Rio civil police said in a statement they had started an operation on Sunday linked to their probe into an global ticket touting ring, but declined to provide further details.
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Brazilian police raided Irish Olympic officials on the last day of the Rio Games on Sunday, seizing passports, computers, mobile phones and unused tickets in a rapidly expanding investigation into allegations of an illegal ticketing scam.
The IOC had said that Hickey would face a judge on Tuesday but the Rio court said that no hearing has yet been scheduled.
They also arrested Irishman Kevin Mallon, a director of THG Sports, which specialises in corporate and sports hospitality and has been held since. They are being held at the maximum-security Bangu prison.
At their press conference the Rio police provided printouts of some of the emails between Evans, the head of THG, an global sports hospitality company.
Police say the officials told them the tickets were intended for use by Irish athletes. More than 1,000 tickets have been seized in the investigation. At least three other OCI officials have had their passports seized amid the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, their former boss OCI President Pat Hickey remains behind bars.
Brazilian authorities also claimed that the email trail also allegedly found there was contact between the pair less than three weeks ago on August 3.
Police in Rio de Janeiro have begun questioning two of Ireland’s top Olympic executives in a ticket-scalping probe that has already ensnared the highest official.
“We are continuing the investigation into the global scheme of ticket scalping”, Rio police said, according to CBC. The OCI had nominated THG to be its official ticket vendor for the games but that application was rejected by organisers meaning THG was unauthorised to sell tickets or hospitality packages for the event within Brazil or overseas.
THG executive Kevin Mallon was also arrested.
A RIO judge yesterday authorised cops probing a ticket-touting scandal at the Olympics to seize the passport and documents of FAI boss John Delaney.
It is understood their names were mentioned by Hickey in his evidence given to the police, although the three are not believed to still be in Rio.
“All I can say is I have to find some lawyers and present to the police tomorrow, which is what we’ll do”. Their statement reads: “Mr Hickey did not try to escape as informed by the police”.
Minister Flanagan has agreed to meet with the Hickey family and said that “arrangements will be made for this meeting to take place in the coming days”. The video shot during his arrest shows that he was awakening at that very same time, wearing a robe.
“His wife was took [taken] by surprise with nearly 10 men standing on her door at 6am, and panicked”.
Investigating officer Aloysio Falcao has said he would not object to house arrest for Hickey, as long as he doesn’t leave Brazil.
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Mr Hickey has temporarily stood aside from his role as Olympic Council of Ireland president following the controversy.
