Irish woman is arrested on suspicion of fraud after family 'racked up £2,000 bill' on all-inclusive Spanish holiday before 'fleeing without paying'

By JOE ROSSITER, REPORTER and NATALIA PENZA Published: 22:07, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 22:07, 19 July 2026 An Irish mother has been arrested after her family were accused of trying to leave their Spanish hotel without paying their £2,000 bill. Police arrested her on suspicion of fraud at Gran Canaria airport after she protested there had been problems with the bank card she had used to book the all-inclusive holiday. The woman, who travelled to the Canary island with her partner and child, stayed for 11 nights but when the hotel tried to charge the card she had used to book the stay, the payment did not go through. Staff at the hotel, which has not been named, tried to contact the woman and she said she would pay the bill but stopped replying to the company without settling the amount. Officers tracked her to the island's airport, where she was arrested and taken to a police station on Gran Canaria's southern coast. She was then handed over to a judge though it is not yet known what happened at her court hearing. A police spokesman said: 'Officers have arrested a young foreign woman as the alleged perpetrator of a fraud offence after she allegedly left a hotel in the municipality of San Bartolome de Tirajana without paying for a stay valued at £2,113.' 'The investigation began after the hotel management reported that a family consisting of two adults and one minor had left the premises after staying for eleven nights on an all-inclusive basis without settling the bill. An Irish mother was arrested on suspicion of fraud on Gran Canaria after allegedly failing to pay a hotel bill Spanish police said the woman, who stayed with her partner and child for 11 days on the island, had not paid the £2,000 sum Officers said she was Irish but did not share her age. She was handed to a judge but it is not yet known what happened in court 'According to the complaint, the reservation was made through the hotel's website with a bank card provided as a guarantee. 'However, when the hotel attempted to charge the card after the stay had ended, the payment method did not allow the transaction to be completed. 'Hotel staff repeatedly attempted to contact the person who had made the reservation in order to resolve the situation. 'Although she initially stated that she intended to make the payment, claiming she was unable to access her bank card because she was already at the airport, she ultimately ceased all communication without paying the outstanding amount. 'After becoming aware of the incident, National Police officers launched a search that enabled them to identify the alleged offender at the Border Control Post at Gran Canaria Airport, where she was arrested before leaving the island. 'Following the arrest and the completion of the appropriate judicial procedures, the detainee was taken to the Maspalomas National Police Station for the preparation of the corresponding case file and was subsequently brought before the judicial authorities.' The police force added it remained 'firmly committed to protecting the Canary Islands' tourism sector'.