Brazilian man 'held captive' inside home for at least 20 years
A man has been rescued by police after allegedly being held captive by his father and step-mother in the basement of their home for at least 20 years.
Armando Bezerra de Andrade, now aged 36, was found by chance after officers carried out a drug raid in a poor neighbourhood near Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Andrade was reportedly found “chained to his bed in shackles”. He could barely speak, and his beard was "down to his knees" and covered in human waste, according to local media.
Neighbours told police his stepmother often beat him in public before he “disappeared” when he was 16 or 17 years old, according to Brazilian media.
After the raid, there were reports the victim’s father said his son had returned the previous week and asked to be locked in the room because he was a drug addict. Police reportedly do not believe the father’s story and are investigating.
Police chief Celso Marchiori told reporters: “He got up, very impaired and didn't speak a word. We took him outside and he still didn't say anything. We didn't know if he was scared or drugged.
“It is an unhealthy place, he would not have survived. There is no light.”
Witnesses said he had “enormous toenails and fingernails” and looked “malnourished”.
Andrade’s father and step-mother have since fled and are still on the run.
Ederson Silva, a childhood friend of Armando told local media, “Whenever we asked about him they always said they same thing, no, he's living in the northeast, he's well, he's working, he's building his family there. That's all they said to us.”
Andrade is currently in the psychiatric ward in hospital, reportedly too traumatised to speak.
Top news stories - October 26