Sao Paulo: The mother-in-law of Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly been taken hostage for a £28 million ransom in what is believed to be Brazil's biggest kidnapping.
Aparecida Schunck, the mother of Ecclestone's third wife Fabiana Flosi, was kidnapped on Friday night in Interlagos, Sao Paulo, according to Brazilian magazine Veja.
It is understood that Mrs Schunck, 67, lived nearby in the neighbourhood, where Ecclestone met Flosi at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2009.
The pair married in 2012 after Ecclestone, 85, divorced his then wife Slavica Radic. Ecclestone is worth an estimated $3.1 billion.
The kidnappers were said to be in contact with the Ecclestone family and had demanded R$120 million (£27.84 million), to be paid in sterling in four separate bags. The details were confirmed by other publications, which had held off reporting the abduction.
Security services in Sao Paulo said they did not comment on kidnapping cases for the safety of the victim and could not confirm the reports. The Ecclestone family also declined to comment.
However, it was described as the biggest ever kidnapping ransom in the country amid heightened security concerns ahead of the Rio Olympics, which start in less than two weeks.
Neighbours of Mrs Schunck in the affluent Jardim Santa Helena area said they were becoming increasingly concerned for her safety over the length of time she has now been held.
One, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said: "Recent years have seen the number of kidnappings that once plagued our neighbourhood fall but when they did happen it was never for this long.
"Everyone is extremely worried for Aparecida. She is such a lovely woman."
The neighbour added the Schuncks had moved to the area after Fabiana met Ecclestone.
After buying the property they increased security measures adding a wire fence on top of the wall.
"They came here for the safety it provides," she added.
"Where they once lived was okay but not safe for the family of someone so rich.
"Their house here is well protected. There is a 10 foot wall all around it. Unless you have a key you have to be let in.
"The gang posed with a box saying they had a delivery in order to get in. It was when the door was opened they forced their way in. The forced Aparecida into her own car as they left."
In the host city, a New Zealand athlete reported being "express kidnapped" by police officers at the weekend and forced to withdraw money from an ATM as a bribe.
Jason Lee, a Brazilian jiu jitsu fighter who has lived in Rio for almost a year and was returning from a competition when he was stopped by police, said: "I was threatened with arrest if I did not get in their private car and accompany them to two ATMs to withdraw a large sum of money for a bribe.
"I'm not sure what's more depressing, the fact this stuff is happening to foreigners so close to the Olympic Games or the fact that Brazilians have to live in a society that enables this absolute b******* on a daily basis."
Brazilian media reported that two officers had been arrested.
Sao Paulo saw a rise in kidnappings in 2001-2002, when there were more than 300 a year in South America's biggest city.
And while abductions have since become less common, Brazil was still reported to be in the top five countries in the world for kidnappings, with 1,000 across the country in 2012.
More than 40,000 troops have been deployed to Rio and the five other football host cities - including Sao Paulo - to guarantee security during the Games. Armed forces took over public security in Rio from Sunday with 22,000 on patrol on the main roads, coast and strategic locations.
