‘Suspicious meat found in suitcase of ‘dead cannibal’ in Portugal IS HUMAN – but NOT part of the man he is suspected of killing’
- Begolea Fernandes, 25, is suspected of killing a 21-year-old man in Amsterdam
- He was arrested in Lisbon with a suitcase of meat that is now said to be human
A package of ‘suspicious meat’ found in the trunk of a suspected cannibal killer at an airport in Portugal is said to belong to a human.
Begolea Mendes Fernandes, 26, was arrested at Lisbon airport on Sunday on suspicion of the murder of 21-year-old Alan Lopes in Amsterdam.
Fernandes is said to have fled the Dutch capital and boarded a flight to Lisbon, where he was caught with a suitcase containing pieces of meat and bloody clothes.
Forensic experts have now analyzed the contents of his luggage in a specialized laboratory and have reportedly determined that they are human remains.
However, the remains are not those of Lopes, on whom Fernandes is suspected of murder in North Amsterdam on Sunday, Portuguese media report.
Begolea Mendes Fernandes, 26, is suspected of murdering 21-year-old Alan Lopes in the Dutch capital on Sunday. Fernandes is said to have fled the Dutch capital and boarded a flight to Lisbon, where he was caught with blood on his clothes and a suitcase containing pieces of flesh now believed to be human remains
The Dutch police have confirmed that Lopez was the victim of a ‘serious violent crime’.
According to the Portuguese press, investigators suspect that the killer may have committed cannibalism.
The suspect detained at Lisbon airport had a layover and boarded a flight to Belo Horizonte in his home country of Brazil.
He is now under police arrest at Santa Maria Hospital in the Portuguese capital and is expected to be extradited to the Netherlands.
A spokesman for the Portuguese Border and Immigration Service said: ‘A 26-year-old man suspected of murder in the Netherlands was arrested at Lisbon airport on Monday.
“He was wearing clothes with blood on them and had a package with pieces of meat.
He was detained at the airport border control after authorities became suspicious of the legality of the Italian identity card he had presented.
“He was initially detained on suspicion of traveling with forged documents before it was later discovered that he was suspected of having committed a murder in the Netherlands the day before.”
Fernandes was detained at Lisbon airport (pictured) after arriving on a flight from Amsterdam
The murder victim was found dead in the house he shared with relatives, including his mother and two sisters.
The respected Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias reported that he may have been a victim of cannibalism.
A spokesperson for the Dutch police says: ‘On Monday afternoon, a 25-year-old man was arrested at Lisbon airport in collaboration with the Portuguese authorities and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.
“The man is suspected of having been involved in the death of a 21-year-old man who was found in a house on Vegasstraat in North Amsterdam on Sunday evening, February 26.”
The investigation continues.
