Zahra Rachid, a Sydney travel agent, has been arrested by police after allegedly defrauding numerous customers out of their money and travel dreams. Footage from A Current Affair captured the moment police apprehended Rachid, who stands accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from hopeful travelers.
One victim, Nicole Vris, shared her experience of using Rachid’s services at Travel World Sydney to plan a dream trip to Greece for herself and 34 family members. “It’s very hard to round everyone up to go on a holiday at the same time,” Vris explained. “Zahra has ruined that dream for many people.”
Vris believed her family’s holiday was confirmed until she checked with the airline, which had no record of her booking. As a result, her family has allegedly lost about $160,000. While Vris has paid for new flights to Greece, the trip will not be the large family affair she had envisioned, as only a few can afford to pay for the trip twice.
“Your face value matters in life… and she’s definitely lost that,” Vris stated. “This was going to happen, and she needs to be held accountable for her actions.”
NSW Fair Trading has received multiple complaints against Travel World Sydney, totaling over $230,000. Rachid faces 16 fraud charges for allegedly making bookings and later canceling them without notifying customers, as well as failing to issue refunds.
“I think it would be great if everyone had their funds returned to them,” Vris expressed. “By Zahra being put away, it might just shake her foundations a little bit.”
Rachid has been granted bail and is scheduled to appear in court next month.
