Ghana/Mali: 4 Ladies Arrested For Selling Fake Tickets

Ahead of Sunday�s crucial world cup qualifying match between the Black Stars of Ghana and their counterparts from Mali, the Ashanti Regional Police Command have arrested four ladies alleged to be selling fake tickets. According to Chief Inspector Mohammed Tanko of the head of the Public Affairs Unit of the Ashanti Regional Police, an unspecified amount of money was in their possession when arrested. Narrating the incident to Joy News, he said, �what happened was that two friends went to buy ticket and they wanted to sit together so they were expecting that they will get tickets that follow one another, so they could be able to sit at the same place, but when the ticket was issued to them they found out that the ticket bore one serial number so they reported to the security men on duty at the place and the ladies were arrested�. Speaking without disclosing their identities, Chief Inspector Mohammed Tanko said, �when they were questioned they told police that they were recruited by a lady who was in charge of the ticketing to help sell the ticket but somebody else gave them those tickets� They are all in police custody but the police says they are trying to investigate as to where they were able to get those tickets from and who were those behind it, so that the law will have it cause. The Ghana Football Association by virtue of a FIFA directive was made to sell advance tickets to avoid prospective incidence of overcrowding at the stadium even though there were fears the tickets could be duplicated. Security Prior To Match Beyond the arrest of the four suspected ladies, police have also beefed up security, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander; DCOP Patrick Timbilla explained that, 300 police officers will be assisted by the military and fire personnel with a standby team to provide security at the Baba Yara Stadium. Meanwhile, the Black Stars will be seeking to end their World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers with their Malian counterparts playing them at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. The Black Stars have already qualified for the Fifa World Cup Mundial in South Africa 2010 and the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Angola come 2010, and are seeking to seal their qualification with a win against Mali.