Beijing police detained three men on suspicion of touting Olympics tickets, said police on Wednesday.

Police in the city's Haidian District discovered tickets on sale on the Internet at a high price on Monday. A 50-yuan ticket was sold at 1,500 yuan (214 U.S. dollars).

On Tuesday afternoon, the police caught the three suspects and seized 15 tickets to volleyball, basketball and hockey events. The three are being held in custody.

This was the first case of scalping Olympic tickets in Beijing, said a spokesman of the public security bureau of Haidian District.

Beijing Public Security Bureau had launched a clampdown on touting tickets to large events on March 18. Police have arrested 316 touts and seized more than 800 tickets.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2008)