An International Olympics Committee executive has been arrested and six more have been accused of illegally selling tickets, per reports from O Estado de Sao Paulo and USA Today.
IOC executive has been arrested for participation in a ticket scalping scheme
He has been the president of the Olympic Committee of Ireland since 2013.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The executive, 71-year-old Patrick Hickey, attempted to escape police custody by sliding his credential under the door and fleeing to another room. He became sick after the arrest and was transported to a local hospital.
Hickey and the others are accused of illegally selling more than 1,000 tickets, which had been allocated to the Republic of Ireland, and resold at high fees above the listed price set by the Olympic organizers.
Hickey, a former judo champion, has been the president of the Olympic Committee of Ireland since 2013.
“Continuing our investigation, civil police discovered the involvement of Patrick in the international scheme of ticket scalping,” Rio police said in a statement.
The Olympic Committee of Ireland acknowledged the situation but would not yet comment directly.
The ticket fraud is reportedly related to the arrest of Kevin James Mallon last week. Mallon was the director at the British firm THG and was also accused of selling tickets much higher than the maximum value assigned to them.
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