RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul said Tuesday that the mother of a famous soccer star was rescued from kidnappers.
Civil Police official Rafael Lopez said that Rosangela Freda, the mother of Brazilian striker Taison, was found in a rural area near the town of Monte Bonito.
Freda was kidnapped a day prior when she unknowingly opened a door for criminals who came to her house with a bouquet of flowers. The armed assailants took her into a vehicle and fled.
Lopez said the rescue operation was carried out by military police who recognized the kidnappers' vehicle and tracked it down.
Three men and one woman were arrested, and another attacker managed to escape.
The police said Freda was in good health.
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