Rio civil police have issued a statement which says that they had started an investigation into an worldwide ticket touting ring, but they have declined to issue any further details at this time.
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Mr Justice Carroll has been asked to probe the ticketing policy in place at the Olympic Council of Ireland, arrangements the OCI had with third parties and the issuing of accreditation for the Games.
Speaking at a police conference Ricardo Barboza de Sousa said Mr Henihan’s role was “only bureaucratic”.
THG Sports executive Kevin James Mallon, whose company stands accused of facilitating the ticket sales, is also being held on charges of ambush marketing, criminal conspiracy and ticket scalping.
More than 700 tickets organised in envelopes clearly marked for sale are found in a safe with Mr Mallon, police said.
“At no time did we authorise Mr Mallon to sell any tickets on our behalf nor to the best of our knowledge did he sell any tickets. He merely acted as a collection point for individuals transacting directly with ourselves”.
“It is not something we are accustomed to here”, he said.
Mr Ross has voiced concerns about publicity around the arrests and questioning of Irish citizens in Rio. Earlier this week Kilty and Martin were described as suspects.
“Pat Hickey says he wasn’t alone when making a decision”.
Mr Hickey complains of a heart problem and spends a night in hospital.
The OCI has said it will co-operate fully with the inquiry.
A POLICE COMMISSIONER from Rio de Janeiro has defended the fact Pat Hickey was filmed as he was arrested in Brazil.
Since then the original OCI internal investigation has been abandoned in favour of a non-statutory official inquiry by a retired Irish judge whose name has not yet been released.
Mr Hickey has his passport confiscated and is now being held at Bangu prison following his arrest last week.
We understand that the three senior Olympic Council of Ireland officials, including one from Northern Ireland, have had their passports, phones and laptops seized in Brazil.
Police chief Ronaldo de Oliviera said there was “a great chance” they would recommend that the passports of Kevin Kilty and Stephen Martin be returned to them after they were interviewed at a police station in the north of Rio yesterday.
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The authorised ticket reseller contracted by the OCI is Dublin-based PRO10 Sports Management.
