“The detainees have been referred to the authorities in charge to follow the legal procedures,” the ministry said on Twitter, adding that they are exposed to a maximum fine of 250 thousand Qatari rials (about 1.3 million Mexican pesos) multiplied by the number of tickets involved.
The authorities also published the photograph of the suspects handcuffed and with their faces blurred. In front of them, on a table, tickets, bills, computers, cell phones and car keys.
They are the first arrests for this reason to be announced before the start of the tournament on Sunday.
On May 10, arrests were announced for the sale on social networks of counterfeit products (T-shirts and caps with the World Cup logo).
Also, in early November, the security forces seized a hundred counterfeit trophies that were going to be sold on the internet.
In December 2021, the Qatari authorities inspected a factory and confiscated a perfume that was to be marketed with the competition’s logo.
Placing this logo on the vehicle’s license plate became prohibited in the emirateafter the auctions of special plates.