On Monday (14) Qatar announced the detention of three foreign men in front of official ticketing facilities in Doha, marking the country’s first World Cup ticket tout arrests.
The interior ministry reported that “three people of different nationalities” were detained six days before the tournament began and are currently the subject of legal action.
The men were caught “reselling tickets” outside “official outlets,” according to a tweet from the ministry, which did not identify the nationalities of those detained.
Daily lines form outside FIFA’s primary ticketing facility in the heart of Doha as fans wait to buy popular match tickets.
According to the statement, if found to have sold tickets, those detained could be fined up to 250,000 riyals ($68,000), or more.
Authorities announced the discovery of 144 fake World Cup trophies last week.
Authorities have already targeted fake clothing with official emblems and automobile number plates with World Cup graphics.
A facility that made perfume bottles with World Cup insignia was raided the previous year.