Patrick Hickey, head of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), has reportedly been arrested after allegedly helping to sell illegal Olympic tickets.
Shell shock here in Rio
— Shane Ross (@Ross_Shane1) August 17, 2016
Taken to the hospital after being arrested, Hickey, who is also the head of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI), reportedly tried to escape when police came to arrest him, per BBC.
“Mr Hickey, 71, is suspected of illegally passing on tickets for the Games to be sold on at extortionate prices, Brazilian media report.
“They say he slid his Olympic pass under the door when police came knocking and fled into the adjacent hotel room, where his son had been staying until recently.”
The Ireland Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has acknowledged the fact that one of its citizens has been arrested but would not elaborate further, per the report.
Hickey’s passport and Olympic ID have been seized and put up for display by police at a press conference.
The case broke when fellow Irishman Kevin James Mallon, director of THG Sports, a sports hospitality group, was arrested and found to have over 800 “top-class tickets for the Games.”
Per the report, police believe the tickets were to be sold for upwards of £6,000 ($7,800) each.