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Olympics: Irish Scam Suspect Freed

Brazilian authorities have provisionally released an Irish businessman held over an alleged ticket scam at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, one of his lawyers said.

Kevin Mallon, director of British hospitality firm THG, had been held in a Rio prison since his arrest on August 5.

Police said at the time that they seized hundreds of tickets from Mallon which they suspect were offered for sale for thousands of dollars.

One of his lawyers, Thiago Andrade, said Mallon was freed from jail in Rio late Saturday after a judge gave written authorization.

"He has just been released," Andrade told AFP by email shortly after 10:00 pm (0100 GMT Sunday), without elaborating.

Mallon had been caught in a hotel at Barra da Tijuca, in the heart of the Olympic zone, selling tickets to a group of buyers, according to police who said that they seized 781 tickets "that were being sold at very high prices." 

Andrade however said that Mallon's release did not affect the case of another detained suspect, European Olympic chief Patrick Hickey.

Hickey, 71, is the highest-profile suspect in the alleged ticket scam.

He is an International Olympic Committee member and head of the Olympic Council of Ireland and the European Olympic Committees.

Hickey is detained in the Bangu maximum security prison in Rio, the same place where Mallon was being held.

Following his arrest, Hickey temporarily stood down from his official positions.

Police earlier said arrest warrants had been issued for seven others including Marcus Evans, a British businessman who is the chairman of Ipswich football club in England.

Hickey's family have urged Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan and Sports Minister Shane Ross to "urgently intervene in addressing the extremely worrying issues surrounding his arrest and detention."

Lawyer Anne Marie James said in a statement Friday that no charges have been brought, "nor has an appropriate venue for a bail application been made available."

Source: Agence France Presse


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