Police get tough on train ticket scalpers

BEIJING - Some 4,955 alleged train-ticket scalpers had been detained or arrested by police by Tuesday and officers had confiscated 31,000 tickets with a face value of more than 5 million yuan ($759,000), according to the Ministry of Public Security.

A statement on the ministry's website on Wednesday said police across the country had been working hard to target scalpers who prey on desperate would-be travelers during the busy Spring Festival travel season.

The statement said officers had broken up 1,060 ticket-scalping rings during 45 days of a crackdown that began on Dec 25.