Gardaí issued a warning about forged tickets for the sold out U2 Elevation Tour concert at Slane Castle.
Gardaí believe that the forgeries are part of an organised criminal counterfeit operation. Official ticket sellers, Ticketmaster, say the forgeries are good but are worthless. The forged tickets are being sold in small numbers at around £80 each, which is double the face value. They are being offered for sale in magazines and through university campuses around the country.
Eamon O'Connor, Ticketmaster, says that the genuine tickets have security features which are not present in the forgeries and says customers are being fleeced.
The tickets are good quality forgeries but they don't have three necessary security features.
The tickets are printed on ordinary paper rather than thermal paper. The hologram is stuck on and not printed on the ticket. The barcode is copied, so when it is scanned, it will not secure admission to the concert.
Supt John Farrelly of the Garda Press Office warns concert goers that if they are going to purchase tickets outside of the official outlets, they should insist on purchasing the ticket from the vendor's house and check the ticket for authenticity.
One man has already been arrested and questioned by the Gardaí after he sold two forged tickets and then attempted to sell two more to the same man with the same serial numbers.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 18 May 2001. The reporter is Paul Reynolds.
