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President of Olympic Council of Ireland Pat Hickey arrested in Rio

He is in the city to attend the Olympic games.

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It has also been reported that Police said he tried to escape when they came to arrest him. “It is still early morning here so we are trying to gather some information and when we do that we will release a statement through our normal channels”.

The OCI says Stephen Hickey, the son president Pat Hickey, was a manager at THG Sports at the time of the Olympic Games in London.

Rio police today arrested IOC Executive Board member Pat Hickey in connection with the Olympic tickets scalping scandal, according to a Brazilian newspaper.

They also arrested Irishman Kevin Mallon, a director of THG Sports, which specialises in corporate and sports hospitality.

Hickey, who heads the European Olympic Committees and the Olympic Council of Ireland, is accused of being involved in illegal ticket sales for the Games. His condition is unknown.

The company has denied any wrongdoing.

Update 12.30pm: Speaking from Rio, Sports Minister Shane Ross has confirmed that he was aware of the arrest, that he liaising with the Irish embassy and that he is monitoring events. “I do not now have information about who that person was or the circumstances of their arrest”, Mr O’Donohoe said.

Here, the Department of Transport said it was aware of the story of Mr Hickey’s arrest but that it had no official confirmation and would not be making any comment.

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“Ministers Ross and O’Donovan are now making an assessment of the situation and I’ll wait to hear back from them regarding their views on how this matter is being dealt with”, he said.

Pat Hickey