Olympic black-market exposed, Yard to probe
30 July 2012 7:30 AM IST
British police have launched an investigation into the black-market sale of Olympic tickets by three official ticket agents covering the Games, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
The Sunday Times report said Scotland Yard began the probe after an expose it carried out during which Olympic officials and agents 'were secretly filmed selling thousands of top tickets for up to 10 times face value.'
Detectives from Operation Podium, set up by the force to tackle Games-related ticket fraud, launched the inquiry last week after studying more than 20 hours of recordings provided by the newspaper, the report said.
Officers will seek to question agents representing the Olympic committees of China, Serbia and Lithuania and could make several arrests during the Games, the report added.
The report said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was examining the same evidence and had suspended the ticketing process for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games in Russia.
The undercover investigation claimed to have found widespread corruption among officials and agents controlling the tickets for at least 54 countries. A Scotland Yard spokesman would not confirm that the new probe had been launched, but said police seeking to prevent ticket touting at the Games had made 16 arrests over the past two days as part of Operation Podium.
Five people were held on suspicion of ticket touting before Friday's opening ceremony and of these a German man, 57, and a Slovakian woman, 30, had been charged with ticket touting, the spokesman said.
Officers made a further 11 arrests on suspicion of ticket touting on Saturday, while two people were held in relation to the alleged theft of two Olympic Lane passes. The head of the Metropolitan Police's Operation Podium, Detective Superintendent Nick Downing, said: 'My team has been working tirelessly to clamp down on ticket touts. We have been, and will continue to seek out and take action against anybody who tries to cash in on the 2012 Games in this way.'
LONDON POLICE ARREST 182 ACTIVISTS ON BICYCLES
London police arrested 182 activists on bicycles who tried to breach the Olympic Park's security cordon during the Olympics opening ceremony, officials said on Sunday.
Four people have been charged with various offenses during Friday night's protest, while the rest were released pending further questioning, Scotland Yard said.
Police said that they were aware that a monthly protest by cyclists was planned for Friday but ordered the protesters to remain south of the River Thames. That was to keep them from blocking more than 80,000 ticket-holding guests from attending the Olympics opening ceremony.
Police said around 400 to 500 people gathered for the demonstration attempted to cross the Thames to the Stratford area, where the Olympic Park is located, defying police warnings and attempts to stop them.
The cyclists split into small groups and some managed to reach Stratford. In a statement, Metropolitan Police said it respected the right to protest but officers must stop protesters who affect athletes, spectators, and ordinary Londoners. It said officers began arresting the cyclists only after
they ignored verbal warnings to leave the area.
The anti-capitalist group Occupy London, part of a global movement that has waged demonstrations against financial institutions and capitalist policies, said some cyclists were members of their organization. They said police cordoned off more than 100 cyclists at one road junction near the stadium as Friday's ceremony was beginning and held them there several hours.
The Sunday Times report said Scotland Yard began the probe after an expose it carried out during which Olympic officials and agents 'were secretly filmed selling thousands of top tickets for up to 10 times face value.'
Detectives from Operation Podium, set up by the force to tackle Games-related ticket fraud, launched the inquiry last week after studying more than 20 hours of recordings provided by the newspaper, the report said.
Officers will seek to question agents representing the Olympic committees of China, Serbia and Lithuania and could make several arrests during the Games, the report added.
The report said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was examining the same evidence and had suspended the ticketing process for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games in Russia.
The undercover investigation claimed to have found widespread corruption among officials and agents controlling the tickets for at least 54 countries. A Scotland Yard spokesman would not confirm that the new probe had been launched, but said police seeking to prevent ticket touting at the Games had made 16 arrests over the past two days as part of Operation Podium.
Five people were held on suspicion of ticket touting before Friday's opening ceremony and of these a German man, 57, and a Slovakian woman, 30, had been charged with ticket touting, the spokesman said.
Officers made a further 11 arrests on suspicion of ticket touting on Saturday, while two people were held in relation to the alleged theft of two Olympic Lane passes. The head of the Metropolitan Police's Operation Podium, Detective Superintendent Nick Downing, said: 'My team has been working tirelessly to clamp down on ticket touts. We have been, and will continue to seek out and take action against anybody who tries to cash in on the 2012 Games in this way.'
LONDON POLICE ARREST 182 ACTIVISTS ON BICYCLES
London police arrested 182 activists on bicycles who tried to breach the Olympic Park's security cordon during the Olympics opening ceremony, officials said on Sunday.
Four people have been charged with various offenses during Friday night's protest, while the rest were released pending further questioning, Scotland Yard said.
Police said that they were aware that a monthly protest by cyclists was planned for Friday but ordered the protesters to remain south of the River Thames. That was to keep them from blocking more than 80,000 ticket-holding guests from attending the Olympics opening ceremony.
Police said around 400 to 500 people gathered for the demonstration attempted to cross the Thames to the Stratford area, where the Olympic Park is located, defying police warnings and attempts to stop them.
The cyclists split into small groups and some managed to reach Stratford. In a statement, Metropolitan Police said it respected the right to protest but officers must stop protesters who affect athletes, spectators, and ordinary Londoners. It said officers began arresting the cyclists only after
they ignored verbal warnings to leave the area.
The anti-capitalist group Occupy London, part of a global movement that has waged demonstrations against financial institutions and capitalist policies, said some cyclists were members of their organization. They said police cordoned off more than 100 cyclists at one road junction near the stadium as Friday's ceremony was beginning and held them there several hours.
Next Story
