Noel Thompson, Freelance Writer

Robert Russell, chairman of Sumfest Productions. - File

WESTERN BUREAU:

Promoters of Reggae Sumfest, Sumfest Productions and the St. James police are carrying out a probe into the discovery of a large quantity of bogus tickets for admission to the festival.

The tickets were found among the legitimate batches at the Sangster International Airport when Sumfest executives went to clear packages which were shipped from a company in Miami, Florida that was contracted to print and supply the tickets.

Shipment at airport

Chairman of Sumfest Productions, Robert Russell, made the disclosure to The Gleaner on Friday night, while sifting through other sets of bogus tickets, which were confiscated at the gates on that night.

"Every year, there are attempts to falsify our tickets and this year is no exception. We've actually found a shipment of Sumfest tickets coming through the airport, which were part of our original stock from our supplier in Miami," Russell stated.

Printing overseas

Describing the situation as "very frightening", he said the fake tickets also contained the same security features as the legitimate ones.

"It is a serious cause for concern and the matter is under investi-gation, and we are hoping to solve the problem soon," he said.

Russell confirmed that, for the past several years, Sumfest Productions has printed its tickets overseas because the security features cannot be produced locally.

Said Russell, "But when there is compromised, it becomes a serious security breach. We will now have to examine the way forward for next year and beyond to see what additional security measures we can implement."