Irish Olympic officials accused of illegal ticket touting scam

The stand-in president of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) is among those to have his passport seized by police in Rio, Reuters reports citing a police source.

Willie O'Brien temporarily stood in for Patrick Hickey, who has been arrested and detained in Brazil as police investigate an alleged illegal ticketing scam.

But it was reported today that he was among six to have their passports seized as part of the probe, along with three others who have been named as Kevin Kilty, Dermot Henihan and Stephen Martin.

In a statement, the OCI said police had found an allocation of unused Rio 2016 tickets in a raid on their offices in Rio in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Three members of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) have had their passports seized by police in Rio as part of an investigation into illegal ticket touting.

The Irish Times reports that officers raided the officials' hotel rooms and took mobile phones, computers and tickets in the early hours of the morning.

The men, named by police sources as Kevin Kilty, Dermot Henihan and Stephen Martin, will have to remain in Rio until Tuesday for questioning.

It comes after the arrest and detention of Patrick Hickey - head of the European Olympic Committee and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member - along with Kevin Mallon of hospitality firm THG Sports, which has also been implicated in the case.

Police are investigating an alleged scheme to pass OCI tickets to THG via the OCI's official ticket vendor Pro10, in a bid to get around Rio organisers' decision to reject THG's application to be the official vendor.

Mr Hickey, Pro10 and THG have all denied any wrongdoing.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) member arrested in Brazil over suspected illegal ticket sales is sharing a jail cell with an executive from the sports hospitality company also implicated in the case, prison bosses said.

Authorities said Patrick Hickey had been given a cell with Kevin Mallon of hospitality firm THG Sports.

The men have been given the same treatment as other inmates at the maximum-security Bangu complex, officials added - including a standard haircut and prison fare.