London 2012 Olympics: Manchester man, 59, arrested on suspicion of illegal ticket touting
By Mancunian Matters staff
Police investigating the illegal touting of ticket at the London 2012 Olympics have arrested a man from Manchester.
The 59-year-old was one of three men arrested at the at Eton Dorney Olympic venue yesterday on suspicion of selling Olympic tickets without authority.
Officers have made a number of arrests since the games kicked off last week.
The unauthorised selling of Olympic tickets is a crime under the Olympic Act punishable by a £20,000 fine, and police have warned they will take tough action against touts.
The London 2012 Olympics has also been hit by a flood of counterfeit tickets being circulated.
Organisers Locog said that on Saturday morning some members of the public were turned away from the first round of the archery tournament having bought fake tickets for the event.
Detective Superintendent Nick Downing, head of Operation Podium, warned touts to stay away.
"My team has been working tirelessly to clamp down on ticket touts," he said.
"We have been, and will continue to seek out and take robust action against anybody who tries to cash in on the 2012 Games in this way.
"Ticket touting is illegal and is a clear exploitation of those who genuinely wish to experience the Games first-hand."
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There is something wrong when
There is something wrong when people take tickets off the market in order to sell them on intentionally, which happens VERY often. Where abouts do you tout your tickets mr anon?
Hold on, touting by
Hold on, touting by definition is to sell something to someone forcefully and aggressively, I highly doubt people hanging around the Olympics venues trying to get hold of tickets had to be forced into buying spare tickets off people. I attended a number of Olympic events this weekend and there were so many empty seats at each one. There is nothing wrong with somebody who cannot make an event selling their ticket at face value, which is the case here. We need to distinguish what is morally right from 'illegal'. Embarrassing.
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