Brazil lottery winner escapes murder plot

The winner of a US$16 million lottery jackpot in Brazil has escaped a murder plot concocted by his own father.

Local media reported that police had caught two contract killers supposedly hired to murder Fabio de Barros.

His father Francisco arranged to have him killed in order to get his hands on the winnings - something the pair had fought about since Fabio won the prize in 2006, O Globo TV and the Agencia Estado said.

A legal stoush ensued after 60-year-old Francisco refused to hand over the winnings Fabio had deposited in his account.

Francisco was arrested on Wednesday.

According to Agencia Estado, police learned about the murder plot while monitoring phone conversations between the two men accused of working as guns-for-hire.

- NZHERALD STAFF