WESTERN BUREAU:
SIX MEN were arrested on Saturday night in connection with the production and distribution of bogus 'Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues' concert tickets, which the police said, were used to fleece the show's organisers of revenue.
The men were held after a group of persons turned up at the concert venue at Cinnamon Hill, Rose Hall, where they tendered tickets with 'almost perfect safety features' to gain entry.
"The tickets were almost flawless, they included all our security features," said Robert Russell, the co-executive producer of the concert.
"However, because of our keen inspection we were able to detect some minor irregularities."
The Gleaner was told that the tickets did beat the security system on Friday night, but the organisers, Turn Key Productions, were alerted after the show ended when they were tallying sales. "When tickets were rubbed, they became smudged, which is unusual for an authentic ticket," Walter Elmore, executive producer, said.
Having being outsmarted on Friday night, the organisers set up a watch for Saturday and the six men, they said, walked 'straight into the trap'.
By eight o'clock on Saturday night, the police had two men in custody and within hours the location of the printery was known. The mastermind, they said, is a man in his 50s. The other four suspects were later apprehended.
Deputy Superintendent Cleon March, head of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB)in St. James, told The Gleaner that a printery in downtown Montego Bay was the place where the tickets were printed.
He said one of the men held admitted to printing 90 tickets valued at a total of $243,000.
At press time the names of the men were not released as the police continued their investigation, neither were the organisers able to confirm how many tickets had 'fooled' their security system.
- Janet Silvera
