NBI goes after ticket scalpers

The National Bureau of Investigation yesterday warned ticket scalpers preying on die-hard and hapless fans of popular teams like Ateneo and La Salle in the UAAP.

The NBI Special Task Force made its presence felt last Saturday when the two rivals team met the Araneta Coliseum where patron tickets worth P250 were being sold for as high as P7,000.

Agent Johnny Logrono of the NBI said they only acted on the request of the coliseum management to be on the lookout for scalpers for the recent game that drew a huge crowd.

The NBI, according to Logrono, posted agents around the venue, himself acting as a potential buyer of tickets that ranged from P3,000 to P7,000 depending on the seat being offered.

“We caught some scalpers red-handed selling tickets. Around 15 persons were rounded up but only six of them were taken in for inquest, including a security guard,” Logrono said yesterday.

He said the NBI will pursue its operations against scalping in big events like concerts or basketball games, and said they are hoping to get to the bottom of things.

“We caught some scalpers but not their sources because we believe they are stationed somewhere else and hand over the tickets to the scalpers when there are already sure buyers,” he said. – Abac Cordero