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Bernie Ecclestone's mother-in-law freed

Brazil

There were emotional scenes as the mother-in-law of Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone was reunited with loved ones, after being rescued by police from the Brazilian hideout where she had been held for over a week.

Three men are said to be in custody after Aparecida Schunck was found in a house in the Sao Paulo region, having been abducted from her own home in the city.

Mrs Schunck was reportedly traced after phone calls made by the kidnappers were monitored by police.

A ransom demand of over 30 million euros is said not to have been paid.

After her reunion with loved ones, Aparecida told the press: “I just ask for those criminals to be arrested so they do not kidnap anyone else.”

Her daughter, 38-year-old Fabiana Flosi, is the wife of 85-year-old Briton Bernie Ecclestone, one of the most powerful and wealthiest figures in world sport.

During Aparecida’s rescue, the two men suspected of kidnapping her were also arrested without any shots being fired.

One of those detained has been named as Jorge Ooreeco da Silva Farea, a helicopter pilot who has worked for Formula One in Brazil.

Jorge da Silva was the president of the Brazilian Helicopter Pilots Association until 2015 and was responsible for all the F1 helicopter operations in the Sao Paulo area.

According to the Daily Mail, he was arrested in a house in a luxury condo in the Granja Viana district of Sao Paulo’s Cotia region, close to where the victim was being held.

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