Police issue warrant for IOC exec for scalping Rio tickets

“Continuing our investigation, civil police discovered the involvement of Patrick (Hickey) in the worldwide scheme of ticket scalping”, the Rio police fraud unit said.

A senior Olympic executive from Ireland was taken to a hospital Wednesday after police came to his beachfront hotel to arrest him as part of an investigation into ticket scalping.

When officers went to his hotel room on Wednesday morning they found his wife there with his Olympic credentials.

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Hickey was taken to a local hospital by ambulance at about 7:30 a.m.

Images by ESPN Brazil show Hickey answering the door to police and stepping into the bathroom naked. Agents estimate the scheme’s profits were about $3 million.

“We will fully cooperate with the police investigation if there is one”, Adams said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it is aware of the arrest of an Irish citizen in Rio but can’t comment on individual cases and stands ready to provide consular assistance if requested.

Shane Ross, Ireland’s sport minister, flew into Brazil on Tuesday to discuss the scandal with Hickey, but ended up fiercely criticising him.

He went on to say that the matter is being investigated by the Irish Olympic Committee and doesn’t directly involve the global Olympic body.

His passport and Olympic ID were seized and were later displayed to photographers at the press conference.

Pro 10 Management – An Irish sports management company based in Lucan, County Dublin, which was appointed by the OCI as its Authorised Ticket Re-seller (ATR) in Ireland.

Kevin James Mallon, one of the heads of THG Sports, was arrested at the start of the Rio Games along with an employee who was working as an interpreter.

Police suspect they were to be sold at prices of up to £6,000 ($7,800) each.

Two people were arrested earlier in August, amid allegations that Olympic tickets earmarked for Ireland’s Olympic Council were sold on the black market in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian authorities have also issued warrants for four more executives at THG, including Marcus Evans, who owns its parent company as well as English soccer club Ipswich Town.

“The allegation that a portion of the OCI’s Family and Friends tickets were being made available by PRO10 for general sale is utterly untrue and completely without any foundation”, the company said.

In 2012, the former Brazilian football turned senator and longstanding critic of Fifa and the IOC, Romario, filed a request with the ministry of sport to investigate Pat Hickey.