Hickey was taken away from the hotel in an ambulance at about 7.00am and was expected to spend the night in hospital, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams and police said.
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The OCI released a statement on the matter on Wednesday evening. Sky News said that Hickey has been charged with conspiracy, ticket scalping and ambush marketing and will be held in custody while investigations are continuing.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would co-operate with any police investigation and stressed that Mr Hickey should be presumed innocent until proved otherwise. His wife told police that he had gone back to Ireland, but he would later be found elsewhere in the hotel.
“His Olympics accreditation was lying on the floor which led to the belief that he had run and went to hide somewhere”, the investigator added. They asked for the hotel’s help and found him in his son’s room, Barbosa said.
Images by ESPN Brazil show Hickey answering the door to police and stepping into the bathroom naked. Moments later, he walks out in a white bathrobe.
A further three arrest warrants were issued on Wednesday, Brazilian police said, for directors of Pro 10 Management.
Hickey has been a member of the 98-member International Olympic Committee since 1995.
“President Bach [IOC president Thomas Bach], like the rest of us this morning, would like to see what the charges are and have some evidence, and then we’ll decide what we can do when we actually know the facts, rather than speculating”, Mr Adams said at yesterday’s daily briefing in Olympic Park. “We have full confidence in the system”.
Legal assistance “This is in parallel with the National Olympic Committee of Ireland where these disputed 1,000 tickets came from”. “Even more when we are talking about the biggest sporting event that should uphold ethics and an global spirit”.
Irish Sports Minister Shane Ross said in light of the arrest he will be returning to Dublin as soon as possible and consult with officials and the Attorney-General as to the best course of action for the government.
Police executed a warrant yesterday morning to detain Mr Hickey on suspicion that he was aware that tickets from the OCI had ended up with THG Sports, a British company not accredited to sell them. Mallon was arrested along with a local employee who was working as an interpreter.
THG Sports is owned by Marcus Evans Group, which also owns Ipswich Town Football Club.
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Mallon was arrested after police seized about 1,000 tickets for the Olympics in a Rio hotel, some of which were part of the Irish allocation. The head of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) was a constant presence at the side of Michelle Smith at Atlanta 1996 and among those vehemently defending the swimmer against allegations that she had achieved her result illicitly.
