Four people were arrested in connection to a ticket scalping group that allegedly made NT$20 million (US$678,713) from selling tickets to a K-pop concert, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said today.
The group, allegedly led by a 42-year-old man surnamed Liu (柳), helped fans circumvent the name authentication effort through forged identification cards in collaboration with overseas groups, the bureau said.
K-pop superstar G-Dragon preformed at Taipei Arena for three consecutive days earlier this month, leading to some sellers trying to resell tickets online with the claim that they could pass the real-name authentication process, deputy captain Lee Chien-han (李建翰) said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs
The group announced that a “VVIP” ticket with face value of NT$8,980 was available for more than NT$50,000, Lee said.
The announcement led the bureau to form a task force of officers from Taipei and Taichung working under the direction of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, he said.
By tracing the account that posted the tickets, the task force identified the main suspect as Liu, he said.
Liu had previously worked in the credit investigation industry, but is suspected of ticket scalping for nearly three years, Lee added.
In collusion with a breakfast shop owner surnamed Chan (詹), a security guard surnamed Chiang (江) and an engineer surnamed Chen (陳), the men allegedly bought concert ticket redemption codes from a group in Hong Kong before selling them at six to 12 times the price, he said.
The group allegedly used ID number generators to forge fake IDs as well as edit ID photos by fans to create counterfeit documents for the tickets’ real-name authentication, he said.
The group allegedly obtained about 3,000 ticket codes, of which about 1,500 were for the G-Dragon concert that were sold at a profit of NT$20 million, he said.
The group also allegedly had tickets for an upcoming concert by K-pop group Blackpink and other artists, he added.
Upon gathering sufficient evidence, the task force launched raids across multiple locations, arresting Liu and three others, and seizing about 1,500 ticket codes, 44 physical tickets, artist merchandise, tools for forging IDs, cash and other evidence, the bureau said.
The suspects and some alleged buyers were taken in for questioning, after which the suspects were transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on suspicion of contravening the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act (文化創意產業發展法) and the Household Registration Act (戶籍法), it added.
The former says that selling tickets for more than face value can result in a fine between 10 and 50 times the face value of the ticket, while the latter states that faking national ID cards can result in a penalty of five years in prison or a fine of NT$500,000.
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