Officials have reported that a Brazilian murder suspect, who is suspected of engaging in “cannibal practices”, has been apprehended at an airport in Portugal with a suitcase that contained “suspicious meat” and bloodstained clothes.
Begoleã Mendes Fernandes, 26, was arrested at Lisbon Airport after arriving from Amsterdam, where he was suspected of killing 21-year-old Alan Lopes the day before.
According to Portuguese media, the pieces of meat found inside a plastic bag in Fernandes’ luggage are suspected to be human flesh, and will be analyzed in a laboratory to determine its origin. Fox News Digital reported on the incident.
Officials with the Portuguese Borders and Immigration Service initially detained Fernandes on suspicion of carrying forged documents, including an Italian identity card and other paperwork bearing a name different than his own.
“After contact with the authorities of the Netherlands, the country where he resided, it was confirmed that he was wanted on suspicion of committing a crime of murder that occurred on February 26, in Amsterdam, which led the judicial authorities of that country to issue, already yesterday afternoon, a European Arrest Warrant for extradition purposes,” authorities said.
Upon arriving at Lisbon Airport, Fernandes raised suspicion among border officers due to the bandage on his right hand. During the luggage search, bloodstained clothing and a plastic bag containing meat were discovered. According to JN, the authorities believe that Fernandes might have participated in “cannibal practices.”
After being arrested at Lisbon Airport, the 26-year-old murder suspect, Begoleã Mendes Fernandes, appeared in court in Lisbon and will be extradited to the Netherlands. Fernandes, who had described himself on Facebook as “2% genius, 98% crazy,” is suspected of killing 21-year-old Alan Lopes at a house in Amsterdam.
Lopes was found dead by his sister, Kamila Lopes, who said that Fernandes was homeless and would stay with the family when he had nowhere else to go.
According to the victim’s sister, Kamila Lopes, Alan Lopes had also lent money to the financially struggling suspect. Meanwhile, in an interview with Portuguese television channel SIC, Fernandes’ mother, Carla Pimentel, hinted that her son may have killed Lopes in self-defense, according to RFI, a Portuguese-language news outlet.
As per Pimentel, Fernandes was having dinner with the victim when Lopes reportedly offered him human flesh to consume and showed him videos about cannibalism.
According to her, Lopes then attempted to kill Fernandes. She claimed that the meat found in her son’s possession in Lisbon was the same that was offered to him by Lopes, and her son had kept it as evidence to hand over to the authorities.