The suspects, who are
said to include a Fifa vice-president, have been detained pending extradition
to the US.
The charges include
money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud.
Fifa members are
gathering in Zurich for their annual meeting on Friday, where incumbent
President Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term.
However, Mr Blatter is
not understood to be one of them.
'Seeking clarification'
The New York Times says
plain-clothed police officers took the room keys from the reception of Baur au
Lac hotel, where the officials were staying, and headed to their rooms. It said
the operation was carried out peacefully.
Fifa Vice-President
Jeffrey Webb has been named as one of the officials arrested, says the BBC's
Richard Conway, who is at Zurich hotel. Mr Webb is head of the confederation
for North, Central America and the Caribbean.
New York Times
reporter Michael Schmidt said he also saw Fifa official Eduardo Li of Costa
Rica being led by the authorities from his room out of the building.
A Fifa spokesman said
the organisation was seeking to clarify the situation.
The Swiss Federal Office
of Justice (FOJ) said in a statement on Wednesday that US
authorities suspected the officials of paying millions of dollars worth of
bribes since the early 1990s.
The BBC has learned
that Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan - Sepp Blatter's rival for Fifa
presidency - and his advisers will meet later on Wednesday to discuss the
impact of the arrests on the presidential election this Friday.
Earlier this month, Mr Blatter said he
was aware some of his former colleagues were under
investigation.
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