Patrick Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland, who police in Brazil have confirmed has been arrested as part of an investigation into alleged ticket touting at the Rio games.
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Irish Olympic president Pat Hickey with IOC chief Thomas Bach.
Hickey’s involvement was through Ireland’s Olympic committee, which helped transfer tickets for other companies to sell for high values, police said.
At a news conference earlier today, Rio police said when they went to Hickey’s hotel in the Barra district of the city this morning Hickey was not in his room.
Investigators say the 71-year-old Hickey initially was shaken and the hotel’s doctor recommended his transfer to a nearby hospital for tests because of his age and medical history.
Hickey was rushed to hospital after being taken ill when he was arrested. There was no immediate word on his condition.
They said they were told by his wife that he had left for Ireland – but officers discovered Hickey in another room at the hotel.
Footage of the arrest showed the moment the former worldwide judoka was marched by police from his hotel room still wearing his dressing gown.
The Olympic Committee of Ireland would only say that it was “seeking total clarity on the situation before we comment further”.
A Brazilian judge on Monday also ordered the arrest of four more THG Sports executives on accusations of fraudulent ticket sales at the Olympics.
Numerous tickets seized were allegedly official OCI-allocated ones, however. THG Group is owned by the Marcus Evans Group.
Irishman Kevin Mallon, a director of THG Sports, which specialises in corporate and sports hospitality and is owned by Ipswich Town FC owner Marcus Evans, has been in custody in Brazil since August 5 over the affair.
Per the report, police believe the tickets were to be sold for upwards of £6,000 ($7,800) each.
The Olympic Council of Ireland said Hickey, its president, was stepping aside from all his Olympic functions until the matter was fully resolved.
THG said Mallon had not sold or sought to sell tickets but had been holding them for collection by clients of the Irish authorized ticket reseller, Pro 10 Management. The OCI have previously said they would not permit an independent person to be added to its inquiry team.
Hickey, a former judo athlete, has been an International Olympic Committee member since 1995. He has been head of the OCI since 1989.
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Hickey is also a senior vice president of the Association of National Olympic Committees. As head of the European body he has been instrumental in setting up the European Games which was first held in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year.
