By 3 News online staff
With just over two days to go before the opening ceremony the New Zealand Olympic Committee has found itself at the centre of an alleged ticket scandal.
A reporter from the Daily Mail newspaper claims he was able to illegally buy tickets that were supposed to be reserved for New Zealand residents.
According to the reporter, the tickets were sold at a London Hotel by a company called Cartan Tours – an official ticketing agency that acts for 40 countries and has so far sold over 3,500 tickets to New Zealanders.
The British journalist says he posed as a Caribbean national and claimed he was carrying no identification. He says he bought a ticket allocated for New Zealanders.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee said in a press conference this morning that they were concerned about reports of the incident.
“Cartan Tours confirmed that yesterday there had in fact been a breakdown in their verification process and they have this morning put significant steps in place to make sure that this doesn’t happen again and tighten the system,” said New Zealand Olympic Committee spokeswoman Ashley Abbot.
“The individual who was involved in the process breakdown no longer works for Cartan.”
Cartan Tours say from now on they will only sell tickets to New Zealanders who have pre-registered their details and confirmed their identification as a New Zealander.
3 News