Chinese railway police detain scalpers ahead of Spring Festival holiday period

ZHENGZHOU -- Railway police in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, have detained five suspects for allegedly making and selling fake train tickets.

Officers seized 16,000 fake train tickets from the suspects who were selling them to passengers at Zhengzhou railway station.

The suspects allegedly collected ID information from passengers and produced fake tickets using their own computer system and printers, police said.

Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Feb 16 this year. It is China's peak travel period as millions of people return to their hometowns to celebrate with their families.

About 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made between February 1 and March 12, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

The number of road trips is projected to reach 2.48 billion, a 1.6-percent decrease from last year, while train trips are likely to top 389 million during the period, up 8.8 percent year on year, the statement said.