Civil Police arrested two Nigerians accused of kidnapping and torturing a compatriot with a hot iron for approximately 20 hours in São Paulo, Brazil.
The Anti-Kidnapping Division (DAS) of the Department of Strategic Police Operations (Dope) rescued the victim identified as a 38-year-old merchant.
According to Brazilian media, the victim was approached by the kidnappers around 9 pm on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 when he left home to go to the barber, in Guaianazes, in the East Zone.
The criminals pretended to be armed and forced the man into a ride-sharing car, which took them to the location of the captivity in Cidade Tiradentes, also in the East Zone.
According to Detective Eduardo Pereira, from the 1st Precinct of the DAS (Anti-Kidnapping Division), the criminals tied up the shopkeeper and made a video call with his sister, who lives in Nigeria, demanding money in exchange for not k!lling him.
The merchant’s family contacted DAS, which began investigating the case and managed to trace where the calls to the Nigerian’s sister were coming from.
Then, police went to the location of the captivity, arrested the two Nigerians and freed the hostage around 5 pm on Thursday.
The victim was found tied up and with injuries all over his body caused by the iron. His reunion with his wife, son, and brother was documented by the police.
The two Nigerians arrested have been identified as Darlington Chibueze Nwirji, 43, and Patrick Tochukwu Okolo, 49.
They have been indicted for extortion through kidnapping and torture.
Since both the victim and the kidnappers are foreigners, DAS contacted the Federal Police (PF) and the Nigerian Consulate in São Paulo to inform them about the case.