A political hopeful will be charged with falsely reporting a crime after he bafflingly staged his own kidnapping.
A bizarre clip shows Eliomar Cardoso da Silva behind the wheel of a car with barbed wire around his feet.
The aspiring councillor also has wire around his neck, the headrest and one wrist.
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His shirt is torn and his car and the road are littered with his election campaign stickers.
He can be heard telling the person filming: “They tore up all my stickers.”
The police say Da Silva told the authorities he had been kidnapped by a criminal organisation.
But “inconsistencies were noted” from the very start of the investigation, according to the Federal Police.
The force said: “The city council candidate, who cooperated with the investigation, confessed to Federal Police officers that he had staged the crime.”
The surreal scenes unfolded in Iguatu, south of Fortaleza, Brazil.
Da Silva was a city council candidate for Brazilian President Lula’s Workers’ Party.
The party has since suspended him and started disciplinary action against him.
He pulled out of the election race on Monday (2 Sep) “due to health reasons” as prosecutors were seeking to disqualify him as a candidate.
Da Silva is a healthcare assistant and is employed by the local authority, as reported by Need To Know.
If convicted of “falsely reporting a crime”, he faces up to six months’ detention, which can be converted into a fine or community service.
He may also be charged with misappropriation of public funds if it is found he used taxpayers’ money to fund the hoax.
He may also face a lengthy ban from holding public office.
Electoral law specialist Luiz Felipe Andrade told local media: “The candidate thinks, ‘I’ll resign to get out of this.’ It doesn’t work like that.”
He added: “It’s quite common during election periods for candidates to fake kidnappings or attacks on their campaign offices.
“It’s unfortunate that this happens. I hope it’s pursued, because sometimes, as the election period fades, such issues are pushed aside.
“Elections need to be clean and transparent.”
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