BRASILIA – Brazilian authorities confirmed Monday that they are seeking a man accused of drug trafficking who fled from the headquarters of Brazil’s Federal Police in handcuffs and under circumstances that have not yet been clarified.

The fugitive, whose name and nationality have not been released, was arrested on Sunday at the international airport in Brasilia as he was preparing to board a flight with 10 kilograms of cocaine hidden in his luggage.

He was later transferred to the Federal Police headquarters, where nobody saw him again after two agents left him handcuffed in a room while they were waiting for routine medical exams to be performed on him before he was to be placed in jail.

Authorities have not been able to explain the prisoner’s disappearance, but the facilities of the Federal Police, a building located in a heavy-security area of the capital, have been searched with no result.

After failing to find the man during their internal search, a huge number of police – backed up by helicopters and drug-sniffing dogs – were detailed to begin searching the area near the building. EFE