BBC News

The bodies of six Portuguese businessmen missing in Brazil have been discovered underneath a nightclub in the north-eastern city of Fortaleza.

The six, who disappeared shortly after their arrival in Brazil nearly two weeks ago, were found covered with bullet and stab wounds, and had been buried under a layer of cement.

Police uncovered the bodies after arresting the owner of the nightclub, Luiz Miguel Miltao Guerreiro.

Mr Guerreiro is reported to have confessed to the murders and revealed where he had dumped his victims.

The six men were filmed on short-circuit TV cameras arriving at the airport at Fortaleza, a popular resort, where they were met by Mr Guerreiro.

Portuguese Shock

Police say a daughter of one of the executives had recommended him to the Portuguese men, who are believed to have worked in the building trade.

Mr Guerreiro, a 31-year-old businessman, is reported to be heavily in debt.

Several other people, including his wife, have also been arrested in connection with the murders.

"The bodies were piled on top of each other and in a state of decomposition," police spokeswoman Vania Rocha told the Associated Press news agency.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has spoken of his "profound shock" at the news, while the Brazilian foreign ministry has issued a statement saying it "sincerely regrets" the murders.

Big spender

Police said Luis Miguel Guerreiro had been using the missing men's credit cards and is said to have already spent more than $10,000.

He has a criminal record in Portugal, where he received a prison term in 1996 for a robbery, they said.

The BBC's Sao Paulo correspondent Jan Rocha says police also suspect that the nightclub where the bodies were found was used for prostitution, possibly involving the traffic of women to Europe.

BBC News

Brazilian medical examiners have determined that six Portuguese businessmen found murdered last week were buried alive.

Francisco Simao, medical examiner for the state of Ceara, said that two of the men found interred beneath a beach bar near the state capital Fortaleza had been shot and the others strangled and beaten.

But all six were alive when they were buried under the bar's concrete floor.

The authorities have arrested six people in connection with the murders, one of whom originally picked the businessmen up at Fortaleza airport.

A police spokesman said the six, who include four security guards, had confessed to robbing and killing the businessmen.

Careful planning

Portuguese national Luis Miguel Miltao Guerreiro is also under arrest along with his Brazilian wife Maria Leandro Cavalcante.

Mr Guerreiro was caught on film by security cameras at Fortaleza's international airport as he met the six businessmen on 11 August.

He had become acquainted with them after the daughter of one of the businessmen personally recommended him to them.

The BBC's Sao Paulo correspondent Jan Rocha says the killings appear to have been premeditated.

One of the men arrested along with Mr Guerreiro told police that he had been paid four dollars to dig the hole for the bodies two days before the actual murders.

Another man showed police where he had buried the dead men's luggage and mobile phones in a separate hole near the club.

Mr Guerreiro, the 31-year-old owner of the beach club, already had a criminal record in Portugal.

He was sentenced there to six years in prison in 1996 for robbery although apparently he served only one.

Police said he had been using the missing men's credit cards and had already spent more than $10,000.

They added that they were looking for Mr Guerreiro's brother-in-law, whom they believe is also involved in the crime.

Portuguese shock

Francisco Simao, the state medical examiner, said he had never seen such terrible violence inflicted before in his career.

The six dead men were identified as Manoel Joaquim Barros, Joaquim Fernandes Martins, Vitor Manuel Martins, Joaquim Silva Mendes, Antonio Correia Rodrigues and Joaquim Manoel Pestana da Costa.

Their bodies are due to be flown back to Portugal after the medical examination is complete.

In Portugal itself, Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has spoken of his "profound shock" at the crime.

Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has for his part sent condolences to the dead men's families.

If Mr Guerreiro is convicted of the murders, he faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and extradition to Portugal, Brazilian police said.

In Brazil itself, local human rights groups have called for the beach club to be demolished and replaced by a monument to the victims.

"Latin Sail" - the club where the businessmen's bodies were found.

The victims were apparently plied with whiskey before being attacked.