Last week, we reported that Bernie Ecclestone’s mother-in-law, Aparecida Schunck, was abducted near her home in the Interlagos neighborhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In exchange for her return, the kidnappers demanded 120 million Brazilian Reals, or roughly $36.5 million, to be paid in pound sterling separated into four individual bags. Now, it appears as though the kidnappers won’t be getting anything but cold, hard justice, as Brazilian police have apparently freed Ms. Schunck completely unharmed.
Bernie Ecclestone, the billionaire chief behind Formula One, is one of the richest men in sports, and has been the target of kidnapping and extortion in the past. The $36.5 million ransom was reportedly the highest ransom ever recorded in Brazil, a country notorious for kidnappings.
According to a report from the Continue reading for the full story., police managed to trace phone calls between the kidnappers and the victim’s family, pinpointing her location to a house in Cotia, a town just outside Sao Paulo. Police then executed “a major” operation to free her, which was successful. No ransom was paid, and two suspects were put into custody.
Further developments revealed earlier today allege that Jorge Eurico da Silva, a helicopter pilot with a history working for Ecclestone’s family, was responsible for coordinating the kidnapping.
Upon her release, Ms. Schunck told media, “I only ask for these bandits to be jailed so they can’t abduct anyone else in Sao Paulo.”
Ms. Schunck was abducted July 22nd and was held for nine days.
Continue reading for the full story.
Why it Matters
It’s always nice when these sorts of stories have a happy ending. The victim is unharmed, the bad guys are in jail, and Mr. Ecclestone can finally get back to ruining Formula One. All is well.
And just in time too. The Rio Olympics will be kicking off soon, and any other ending to this story would definitely tarnish the event. That said, there are still plenty of problems and controversies that Brazil must overcome, but with Ms. Schunck now freed, things are looking up.