Police probe into extortion of New Zealand athlete in Rio

The Special Police Station for Tourism Support announced Monday (Jul. 25) that the extortion incident reported by New Zealand jiujitsu athlete Jason Lee has been brought under scrutiny. The sportsman, who has lived in Rio for ten months and is not taking part in the Olympic Games, said he was coming from a match Saturday (23) when he was approached by men in police uniforms.

The alleged police officers forced him to get in his car and drive them to ATMs where he was to withdraw money and pay them bribes under threat of being detained, Lee claims. The Civil Police declared an inquiry has been launched to investigate the case.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira