Cruise-and-dash Brits who fled ship in Ibiza racked up huge £2,700 bill in less than TWO DAYS from booze and casino fees
A BRITISH couple arrested after allegedly trying to dodge a four-figure cruise liner extras bill 'did a runner' less than 48 hours into their luxury trip around the Med, the Sun can today reveal.
Police said on Friday the pair had been held on suspicion of fraud at Ibiza Airport after 'pushing their way' off the ship when it docked on the holiday island.
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Today it emerged they had been on board the Costa Toscana, a Costa Cruises vessel which was only making its second stop after leaving the French port of Marseille two days earlier, when they abandoned ship.
And well-placed sources said they were about at the boarding gate of a Ryanair flight to London Stansted when they were taken into custody as new details of the incident began to surface.
We can today reveal the EUROS 3,196 (POUNDS 2,685) tab the suspects, a man aged 23 and a woman aged 18, had built up included a bar bill as well as Internet expenditure and extras in the ship's casino.
The Costa Toscana, which left Ibiza for Palermo in Sicily without them, docked in Marseille yesterday morning at the end of its seven-day Mediterranean tour.
It was not immediately clear today whether the two Brits are still being retained in Ibiza.
A spokesman for Costa Cruises, an Italian-owned cruise line whose parent organisation is Carnival Cruise Line, confirmed the arrests but said: 'For privacy reasons, we do not delve into matters concerning individual guests.
'However, any irregularities are promptly reported to the competent authorities, who have the responsibility to intervene directly to take the necessary measures."
A spokesman for the National Police in Ibiza, which made the detentions, said last Friday: 'Spanish National Police officers arrested a man aged 23 and a woman aged 18 who are both British as the suspected authors of a crime of fraud for refusing to pay several consumptions during their stay on board a cruiser liner.
'The couple tried to leave the cruise liner in a hurry with their luggage, declining to pay the cost of expenditure linked to their holiday, around 3pm on May 21.
"The bill for various items, linked to their room, came to EUROS 3,196 (POUNDS 2,685).
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'Police called to the scene interviewed crew members who told them the alleged offenders had tried to push their way off the ship in their attempts to abandon the vessel.
'The couple were tracked down in the island airport after detectives launched an operation to find them.
'They were held at 6pm on May 21 as they tried to leave Ibiza.'
One well-placed source told the Sun today: 'They were stopped and taken into custody as they tried to board a Ryanair flight to Stansted.
'It was pretty obvious they had decided to bring their holidays to an early end when they cleared their cabin and left the ship with all their luggage.
'They stood out like a sore thumb from all the other holidaymakers who were just getting off the cruise liner for a day trip to Ibiza with small bags.'
Another said: 'They were less than 48 hours into their trip when they abandoned the cruise.
'It was only on its second stop when they disappeared
'They missed out on Palermo, Rome and the Italian Riviera."
It is not yet known what happened at their court appearance.
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