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By Humphrey Carter PALMA

A total of eleven people were arrested by the Guardia Civil over the weekend for apparently running a bogus gas inspection company which has allegedly conned people out of at least 40'000 euros.

The investigation was carried out by the Palmanova Guardia Civil but the bogus company was operating all over Majorca, especially in north east, east and south of the island.

The investigation was mounted just two weeks ago and over the weekend, the Guardia Civil arrested the so-called director of the company, his two sons and eight employees.

The bogus company's lawyer has also been implicated in the scam.
The suspects were passing themselves off as employees of two different companies which had been subcontracted by a bona fide and authorised outfit to inspect gas fittings and installations.

They would present potential clients or victims with false documents and then provide them with hugely inflated bills.
Over the weekend, the Guardia Civil swooped on the offices of the bogus company and apparently found boxes of false documentation and sources close to the investigation reported that the company conned its victims out of at least 40'000 euros. However, the investigation remains open and the number of victims could rise over the coming days.

The typical victims were either the elderly, disabled or foreign residents.
Only yesterday, a British resident who lives in Costitx contacted the newspaper to report that she had been fleeced of over 1'000 by a bogus team of gas inspectors and on Saturday, another reader called to complain about a “suspicious” visit from an alleged Endesa electricity board engineer.

However, the British bar owner did the right thing and sent him packing.