Brazilian man suspected of being imprisoned by his father for 15 years

During a drug-crime raid on the evening of October 23, police in Guarulhos city, Sao Paolo state, Brazil mistakenly raided the home of an elderly man and discovered a person being held captive in the basement, according to CNN.

The prisoner was Armando Bezerra de Andrade, 36 years old. The cellar was smelly and dirty, with only a dirty mattress, locked windows and was extremely dark and damp.

Armando was found in a state of poor health. Photo: CNN

Armando's father, Amancio Bezerra de Andrade, said his son had just returned home and asked for a place to sleep. He suggested he lock himself up to help him kick his drug addiction.

"This is my son, this is my home and I detained him because he asked me to," Amancio told police chief Celso Marchiori, who is in charge of the investigation. "He is a drug addict who came home after being missing for many years. He asked me to detain him so he could not buy drugs anymore."

"My conscience is clear," he vowed.

Machiori said police found Armando in squalid living conditions and poor health.

"He was severely depressed, had difficulty standing up and walking. He also did not speak so we did not know if he was on drugs or not," Machiori said.

He added that the room smelled terrible due to the waste that had been stored for a long time. Police are investigating because the father's testimony contradicts that of neighbors who said the victim had been held captive for 15-20 years.

According to neighbors, Armando was a smart, funny boy who did not use drugs before he went missing. A neighbor named Rafael Cunha Sousa said the victim's father always avoided questions related to his son.

"When people asked about him, he always said his son was traveling, in the countryside or at a relative's house, but he never said where he was," Sousa said.

According to VNE