Arrests in forged transport ticket criminal network

Police in Catalonia, Spain, after a year-long investigation, have arrested ten people involved in a network to forge transport tickets, just as they were preparing to print a million tickets to be used in Barcelona's public transport system. The forged tickets were of a high quality and it is estimated that Barcelona's metro system alone lost at least US$1.6 million due to this scam. Autoridad del Transporte Metropolitano de Barcelona (ATM), the metropolitan transport authority for Barcelona, had already in
March 27, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Police in Catalonia, Spain, after a year-long investigation, have arrested ten people involved in a network to forge transport tickets, just as they were preparing to print a million tickets to be used in Barcelona's public transport system. The forged tickets were of a high quality and it is estimated that Barcelona's metro system alone lost at least US$1.6 million due to this scam.

4417 Autoridad del Transporte Metropolitano de Barcelona (ATM), the metropolitan transport authority for Barcelona, had already installed holograms in tickets in an attempt to combat forgery, but the network was trying to overcome this by importing fake holograms and expanding to other services and other cities. It is also suspected they were looking to expand into France.

The group distributed the forged tickets through stands and kiosks whose owners did not realise they were fakes and through personal contacts.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Swarco: ‘Everyone’s running after buzzwords’
    April 1, 2019
    The ITS world finds itself in a time of great change. Swarco’s Michael Schuch talks to Adam Hill about connectivity, the increasing importance of the end user – and why you shouldn’t leave your core business behind
    Read More
  • Report highlights community impact of new mobility options
    March 29, 2018
    Local authorities and communities must understand the impacts of the new mobility options and regulate to get the transport systems they want, according to a new report. Colin Sowman takes a look. Outside of the big cities plagued with congestion, the existing transportation system(s) often cope adequately, and the ongoing workload (maintenance, safety…) is more than enough to keep local transport authorities busy. Is it, therefore, a good use of public service employees’ time to keep abreast of the raft
    Read More
  • Indra gets on board Cairo monorail
    June 1, 2022
    Group will provide ticketing technology and access control for Egypt's new transit system
    Read More
  • Argentinian authority keeps a close eye passenger behaviour
    July 26, 2017
    An Argentinian authority is using night-time cameras to fight criminal activity aboard buses. Instances of crimes and violence (especially on city buses or at bus stations) have motivated the city of Rosario in Argentina to improve safety and security on the Urban Transportation System – or the TUP as it is known locally. As posting a police officer on each bus would be cost-prohibitive and uncomfortable for some passengers, security cameras are being fitted to each TUP bus. This solution entailed instal
    Read More

Highlighted Content