European Olympic Committee President Sent to High Security Prison

On August 19, Brazilian police said that European Olympic Committee President Patrick Hickey, accused of reselling tickets to the 2016 Olympics for personal gain, has been transferred to a highly guarded prison.

Mr. Hickey had some health problems when he was arrested. (Source: AFP)

A statement from Brazilian police said Mr Hickey, 71, was transferred from the hospital where he was immediately arrested due to poor health to Bangu prison, a northern suburb of Rio de Janeiro.

Mr. Hickey's lawyer had previously asked for him to be released on bail while the investigation was ongoing, but the judges rejected the request.

Mr Hickey, who is also the president of the Irish Olympic Committee, was arrested at a luxury hotel in Rio de Janeiro, where he was watching the 2016 Olympics. Shortly after his arrest, Mr Hickey was forced to go to hospital with a possible heart attack. Hours after his arrest, Mr Hickey announced that he would temporarily step down from all public office.

The Irish Olympic Committee said Mr Hickey denied any involvement but agreed to be arrested by police. He was charged with facilitating the sale of black market tickets, price fixing and predatory marketing.

Several people have also been arrested in the case and Brazilian authorities are continuing to investigate.

According to the investigation agency, the 2116 Olympic ticket scalping network illegally profited up to 3 million USD after reselling tickets at many times the original price. For example, the opening ceremony ticket price, which originally cost 1,400 USD, was resold by this network for 8,000 USD.

Police have confiscated nearly 800 tickets from this network.

According to VIETNAM+