Police kick-start campaign against 2012 ticket scams

POLICE have established a 36-strong team to combat website sales of fake tickets for the 2012 London Olympics, it has emerged.

Already 37 arrests have resulted in 16 operations, admitted Detective Chief Inspector Nick Dowling, head of Operation Podium.

Police are already compiling a list of known ticket touts across the UK and are warn of creating “a hostile environment” to drive them away.

And fake websites purporting to be in a position to sell Games tickets are being targeted by the officers.

Said the Chief Inspector: “Someone may travel from a distant part of the UK, coming to London thinking that they have tickets for the 100m final for which they have paid thousands of pounds, only to find they have no accommodation, no ticket and no experience of a lifetime. I don’t want London to be associated with that”.

Meanwhile Games organisers are hoping to avoid a sales frenzy by running the ticket application process over six weeks with tickets being allocated by ballot. There could be some way of legally selling or swapping tickets.

But there are no guarantees London 2012 would be a tout-free zone, said Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison. But we will put the fear on them (touts) using every possible legislation that we can.”