Olympics exec arrested for alleged ticket scalping

Brazilian police arrested a member of International Olympic Committee's executive board for his connection to an international ticket reselling ring.
(Image credit: TASSO MARCELO/AFP/Getty Images)

An investigation into illegal ticket sales at the Rio Olympics has led to the arrest of Irish International Olympics Committee member Patrick Hickey. The 71-year-old was reportedly arrested at the Olympic Family Hotel in Rio early Wednesday.

Along with six others, Hickey is accused of participating in an "international scheme to illegally pass Olympic tickets to touts who were reselling them at well above their original price," Reuters reported, while Rio police said in a statement that their investigation implicated Hickey in "the international scheme of ticket scalping."

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