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BEIJING - BEIJING police have arrested 276 people suspected of scalping Olympic tickets, including 37 foreigners, state media reported late Tuesday.
Authorities confiscated 613 tickets in the crackdown that began Friday around Olympic venues, including the 'Bird's Nest' Olympic stadium and the 'Water Cube' National Aquatics Centre, Xinhua news agency said, citing police.
Seven of the foreign suspected scalpers will be held for an unspecified period, 18 others will have their stay in China 'shortened' and the rest had been fined, said Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau spokesman Zhang Xiaoguang.
An unnamed Italian scalper was arrested Friday near the Bird's Nest for trying to resell two tickets - each with a 300 yuan (S$62) face value - that he planned to scalp for 1,000 yuan each, the report said.
Police also found 65 Games tickets on him and they said he confessed to buying 130 Olympic tickets in Italy through various channels - half of which he already sold, the report said. He was still being held by police.
The report did not say whether any of the alleged scalpers appeared in court.
Olympic organisers have said every ticket for the Beijing Games had been sold in advance, but many visitors have complained that venues are half empty during competition.
Police had warned that anyone found scalping tickets would be punished, in some cases with 10 to 15 days in detention, the report said. -- AFP
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