Brampton woman arrested in airline ticket scam

A 44-year-old Brampton woman is under arrest in connection with an airline ticket scam that duped would-be travellers across the GTA and Canada.

Peel region police say between June and December of 2021, two suspects claimed they were working for travel agencies based out of the United Kingdom and accessed a secure online booking portal of a major European airline.

“It is alleged that these two individuals fraudulently sold valid flight tickets to unsuspecting customers and collected the payments to benefit themselves financially,” police said in release.

The two allegedly issued and sold 250 airline tickets valued in excess of $500,000.

Police said the majority of those who bought the fraudulent tickets were from the Calgary area and the flights were mainly to Africa.

Gbemisola Akinrinade, 44, was arrested Friday and faces a number of charges including unlawful use of a computer, fraud over $5,000, and possession of property obtained by crime.

Last month, police arrested Adebowale Adiatu, 32, from Vaughan and charged him with similar offences.

Investigators are asking anyone who may have been scammed or has additional information to contact them.

Patricia D’Cunha contributed to this report