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Irish Olympic officials accused of illegal ticket touting scam

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.

It comes after the arrest and detention of Patrick Hickey - head of the European Olympic Committee and a member of the OCI and International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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.

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Stand-in Irish Olympic president has passport seized

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.

Fans queue for tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Credit: Reuters

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.

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Irish Olympic officials accused of illegal ticket touting scam

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