Drug trial saboteur jailed after £300,000 Antiguan travel insurance scam uncovered

A Reading man has been jailed for four and a half years following a successful conviction for £300,000 worth of fraudulent travel insurance claims.

City of London Police said that Daniel Thomas, 46, targeted Direct Line Group, the Post Office and Great Lakes Insurance with a “series of fraudulent travel medical emergency claims using multiple false identities, fabricated documents and online platforms”.

Evidence for his crimes was first discovered after Thomas came under investigation for attempting to sabotage the court trail of a £45m MDMA smuggling operation, a charge he was sentenced for earlier this year.

The claims – submitted between October 2020 and February 2022 – include a £45,000 claim for salmonella poisoning of Thomas and his family in Antigua, as well as a £150,000 claim for a road traffic collision, also on the Caribbean island.

In both instances, investigators from the City of London’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (Ifed) were able to identify fabricated medical invoices and treatment records, as well as link Thomas to UK bank accounts and claims notifications opened under alias names.

Romanian gang debts

A National Crime Agency (NCA) search of his vehicle also found Spanish passports, bank cards, date stamps and a driving license believed to be linked to the fraud, as well documents relating to his falsified Antiguan claims.

Thomas was sentenced on 1 September 2026, having plead guilty in May of this year after blaming his actions on gambling and drug debts of over £500,000 owed to Romanian gangs. Ifed found no evidence to support this claim.

Joseph Lupoli, senior investigating officer at the NCA, said: “NCA officers were investigating Thomas for attempting to sabotage a drugs trial when we discovered key evidence that he was also involved in significant and complicated attempts to defraud insurance companies out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“We worked closely with our partners in City of London Police to ensure this information was passed on as part of their well-established investigation, which has resulted in Thomas receiving a further jail sentence.”