Story highlights Man discovered in filthy basement; Neighbors say he went missing 20 years ago

Man's father says he had recently returned, asking to be restrained

(CNN) Police in the Brazilian city of Guarulhos say they have discovered a man who may have been kept captive by his family for at least 15 years.

Police in the city, which is in the greater Sao Paulo area, were on a drug raid Sunday evening when they entered a family home in error and discovered 36-year-old Armando Bezerra de Andrade in a filthy, stinking basement. Images of the room show a soiled mattress, padlocked windows and no light source. The door had no handle on the inside.

His father, Amancio Bezerra de Andrade, said he kept his son in the basement because he was a drug user, and contradicted neighbors who said that the man had been there since he was 16.

The police say they were investigating whether he had been locked up for 15 years, while neighbors claim he had been imprisoned in the family home for as long as 20 years.

The elder Bezerra de Andrade said that his son had recently returned home and had asked for a place to sleep.

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