BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – JUNE 28: President of the European Olympic Committee Patrick Hickey speaks during a European Olympic Committee press conference in the Athletes’ Village on June 28, 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Harry Engels/Getty Images)
By Harry Lyles Jr. on

A high-ranking Olympic official was issued an arrest warrant for illegally selling tickets for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

According to the Associated Press, Ireland’s Patrick Hickey, who is a member of the IOC’s executive board was taken to a hospital when police came to his hotel to arrest him, as he was apparently not feeling well.

Hickey is accused of plotting with at least six others to illegally sell tickets for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Rio police said.

More, from the Associated Press:

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

[…]

Officials with knowledge of the situation told the AP that police came to Hickey’s room at the IOC’s beachfront hotel in the Barra de Tijuca area shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not yet been announced publicly.

Hickey is far from the only one who has been involved in illegal activity when it comes to ticket scalping. The AP reports that agents have taken more than 1,000 tickets that were “being sold for high fees and allocated to the Olympic Council of Ireland.” The AP says that the company in question is British hospitality provider THG Sports.

According to the AP, police have their eyes set on a couple of others in the scandal:

One of the executives wanted is Marcus Evans, who owns Marcus Evans Group, the parent company for THG Sports and the owner of English soccer club Ipswich Town.

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 say Mallon had fake tickets.

After those arrests, the Olympic Council of Ireland said it would investigate why some of its tickets were in their possession. The OCI name was visible on tickets displayed by police, but the Irish said they had “no knowledge” of the two men arrested.

Updates on Hickey’s condition have yet to be released.

[Associated Press]

 

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About Harry Lyles Jr.

Harry Lyles Jr. is an Atlanta-based writer, and a Georgia State University graduate.

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