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IOC executive arrested, accused of scalping tickets

A top Olympic official was arrested for illegally selling tickets for the Rio Games, according to multiple published reports Wednesday.

The arrest of Patrick Hickey was part of a larger probe into tickets allotted to Ireland that were being scalped at the Summer Games. Irish broadcast outlet RTE reported that Hickey faces three charges, which, if convicted, would lead to as many as seven years in prison.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said said the allegations centered on 1,000 tickets belonging to the Irish national Olympic committee. Adams added that IOC is not representing Hickey in his legal proceedings.