The police have arrested the mother and brother of a folk singer who was found dead after a suspected ketamine overdose.
Djidja Cardoso, who performed in the band Boi Garantido and who took a step back from show business in 2020 to open a beauty salon, was found dead at the age of 32 at her home in the city of Manaus, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, on Tuesday 28th May, by her family.
Now it has emerged that the police have arrested her mother and her brother, as well as an employee, and a number of other potential suspects.
The arrest warrants were reportedly issued for drug trafficking and criminal association for drug trafficking. The brother was also arrested for rape.
They have been named as Ademar Farias Cardoso Neto, brother of Djidja Cardoso; Cleusimar Cardoso Rodrigues, Djidja’s mother; Veronica da Costa Seixas, manager of the Belle Femme beauty salon; Marlisson Vasconcelos Dantas, hairdresser at the same salon; and Claudiele Santos da Silva, makeup artist at the same salon.
The police managed to approach the mother, brother and manager inside a car trying to escape, at around 4pm this Thursday, and the three were arrested together.
The police reportedly seized a backpack containing drugs and searched the property, as well as a number of other properties belonging to the late singer.
The Amazonas Civil Police said that the case is at the Specialised Homicide and Kidnapping Police Station, saying: “At the moment, the cause of death has not yet been determined and can only be confirmed after a necroscopic examination has been carried out. Investigations into the case are ongoing, and therefore further information cannot be released.”
Lidiane Roque, who represents Djidja Cardoso’s brother and mother, as well as the manager of the Belle Femme salon, Veronica Seixas, declared that they are drug users and do not have capacity.
One family member, who has not been named, reportedly took to social media to say that the house had become a “crackland” and that they had already tried to hospitalise Djidja but had been prevented from doing so by her mother.
The investigation is ongoing.
