Brazilian police have found the dismembered body of a 17-year-old British girl in a suitcase.

Cara Marie Burke's boyfriend was arrested after her cut-up remains were found in the city of Goiania in central Brazil, officers said today.

The chief of police in Goias, Jose Maria da Silva, said her boyfriend, named as Dioli Mohammed, had confessed to the murder.

"He did not show any regret," he told Sky News.

Silva said Cara had been murdered on Sunday night and her body parts were identified by a distinguishing tattoo.

He added: "The mother of the victim lives in London. She already knows this sad news. I don't know what she is planning to do."

Burke had been decapitated and her arms and legs cut off, according to the Brazilian website Globo.com. The report said the suitcase was found on the banks of a river on the outskirts of the city - the capital of the state of Goias, in the central-western region of Brazil.

A spokeswoman for the Goias state police said Burke and her boyfriend, named as Dioli Mohammed, came to Brazil on tourism visas around three months ago. He is being held as a suspect in her death, she said.

Karine Neves, a spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Brasilia, said it was unclear what Burke was doing in Brazil or how long she had been in the country.

Neves said a British vice-consul in Goiania was tracking the case and the police investigation.

The Foreign Office said in a statement: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Goiania in Brazil.

"The body was discovered early on Tuesday. Next of kin have been informed and we are providing consular assistance to the family."