Brazilian police seized passports of Irish Olympic officials on Sunday to keep them in Rio de Janeiro for questioning, as authorities intensified their probe into possible ticket scalping involving Ireland's top Olympic official, Patrick Hickey.

Police arrived at the Rio office of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) early on the last day of the Rio Games. They also took the phones and laptops of OCI personnel, the Irish body said in a written statement.

"The OCI personnel were asked to present for questioning at a local police station on Tuesday (23rd August) next. They agreed to do so," OCI said.

In addition, police seized unused Olympic tickets that were allocated to families and friends of Irish athletes.

Hickey, an executive board member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), was arrested on Wednesday in Rio on suspicion of illegally passing on Olympic tickets to scalpers who sold them at inflated prices.

Hickey has since announced his provisional resignation from his IOC job, as well from other senior posts, including the OCI presidency.
Related Story