Former Olympic Council of Ireland President Pat Hickey is sharing a prison cell with THG Dir Kevin Mallon, "who is also being detained over the alleged illegal sale of tickets," according to the BBC. Mallon was "arrested in Rio over a week ago in possession of hundreds of tickets" earmarked for the OCI. Hickey, 71, was "detained by Brazilian police on Wednesday." The pair are "being held together in the notorious Bangu 10 Rio prison." On Saturday, a Brazilian judge said that Hickey "was remanded in custody on Friday because he was a flight risk." The OCI board is "due to meet on Sunday evening to discuss the issue" (BBC, 8/20). In Dublin, Tom Hennigan reported Hickey was taken to the jail "in the early hours of Friday morning following his release on Thursday afternoon from the hospital where he had been under medical observation after feeling unwell during his arrest Wednesday morning." Police claim both men "were part of a scheme that saw OCI tickets passed to THG via the OCI’s official ticket vendor Pro10, in order to circumvent the rejection by Rio’s organisers of THG’s application to be the OCI’s vendor." Authorities also confirmed that 71-year-old Hickey "had his hair shaved on arrival." A penitentiary administration spokesperson said, "The prisoner had his hair cut at the prison unit according to established procedures." Meanwhile, IOC President Thomas Bach said that Hickey has "not yet been heard by a judge and should be presumed innocent." Bach: "What we know is that he has not been heard by a judge yet and, more so, the presumption of innocence prevails" (IRISH TIMES, 8/20).
PASSPORTS SEIZED: RTE reported the passports of three members of the OCI "have been seized following the search of a hotel in Brazil in relation to the Rio ticketing controversy." No arrests "were made during the search." In a statement, the OCI said, "Early this morning in Rio, Brazilian police arrived at the OCI offices in the Olympic village and at OCI accommodation outside of the village." Civil Police "removed mobile phones and Olympics tickets from the hotel rooms of members of the OCI." The passports of three Irish citizens "were also confiscated by police officers" (RTE, 8/21). In Dublin, Cathal McMahon reported police in Brazil began their investigation into Pat Hickey following a "tip-off" from football legend Romario four years ago. Rio de Janeiro Civil Police Fraud Unit Head Ricardo Barboza de Souza said that his unit "began to probe the alleged fraud after the former World Cup winner spoke in the Brazilian parliament." Barboza also claimed that Hickey was "evasive and unhelpful" when he spoke to police. He said, "Romario is now an important politician here. He tipped us off in 2012. He already denounced Pat [Hickey] and said there is something going on. That was a very big factor" (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 8/20).
