LONDON, July 30, (Agencies): British police said Monday they had arrested 29 people on suspicion of ticket-touting since the start of the Olympic Games.
Eleven of those have been charged with the offence including a German man, 57, and a Slovakian woman, 30, Scotland Yard said in a statement.
Wolfgang Menzel would appear at at Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London on Monday while Maria Bukranova is set to appear at the same court on August 8.
The arrests came as Olympics organisers sought to quell concerns over empty seats by making thousands more tickets available.
Separately police said they had arrested three men on suspicion of posing as plainclothes police officers in order to steal cash or credit cards.
A security guard at the Olympics is under investigation for allegedly insulting a soldier as they worked at a games venue. The G4S contractor is accused of spitting at the soldier and calling him a “baby killer,” in an apparent reference to the war in Afghanistan.
The incident, first reported by The Sun newspaper, happened Saturday at Lord’s cricket ground, the venue for archery.
G4S says it is “urgently investigating claims of an altercation between a security officer and a soldier.”
The company says “insulting behavior” would not be tolerated, adding: “Where necessary, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”
Thousands of members of the armed forces were deployed at the Olympics after G4S failed to hire enough staff.
Meanwhile, police guarding Wembley Stadium where Olympic football matches are being played revealed Monday that they have lost a set of keys to the venue.
Officers searching the stadium in London ahead of the start of the Games misplaced the keys, prompting an investigation by Scotland Yard, but organisers insisted that security has not been compromised.
Organisers stressed that the keys were for internal doors and the relevant locks have now been changed.
Scotland Yard is not treating the incident as a criminal matter.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “On the morning of Tuesday 24 July officers on Olympic police operations at Wembley stadium reported that internal security keys, being used by them as part of searches, were missing.”
She said officers searched the stadium but could not find the keys. “Detectives also attended to ascertain if there was any evidence of criminal offences,” the spokeswoman said. “There’s none at this time.” She added: “There is absolutely no security concern in relation to the stadium as measures were taken immediately to secure all key areas of the venue.”
A spokesman for London 2012 dismissed fears that security had been breached.
“These were internal keys, locks have been changed and the security of the venue has not been compromised in any way,” he said.
Wembley, England’s national stadium, is one of six venues being used for the football tournament and hosted Great Britain men’s 3-1 victory over the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
Both gold medal matches will be played there.
Wembley is one of six stadiums hosting the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments during the games. The first soccer events began on Wednesday, ahead of the opening ceremony.
The key incident appeared harmless, but it was embarrassing for officials who are already on edge defending security arrangements for the London Games.
Just days before the games opened on Friday, Britain’s government had to deploy thousands more servicemen to protect Olympic venues after private security contractor G4S admitted it could not hire enough security guards for the event.
Some of the servicemen called in on short notice have seen their leaves cancelled, while others have only recently returned from tours in Afghanistan.
The chief executive of G4S, Nick Buckles, apologized and said the fiasco was a national embarrassment.