Terrifying underground bunker where boy, seven, was held for 52 days

Video footage has emerged showing the grim basement where a boy, seven, was held hostage by a suspected paedophile for 52 days.

The child had been walking home when he was kidnapped by Dmitry Kopylov, 26, who is alleged to have sexually abused his victim.

The boy was rescued and reunited with his parents after a tip off by Interpol based on intelligence from the West.

The spooky underground bunker with a jail-style bed and a heater was sound insulated beneath Kopylov's house in Makarikha, Vladimir region

The spooky underground bunker with a jail-style bed and a heater was sound insulated beneath Kopylov’s house in Makarikha, Vladimir region

A shocking video shows the grim basement where a boy, seven, was held hostage by a suspected paedophile for 52 days

A shocking video shows the grim basement where a boy, seven, was held hostage by a suspected paedophile for 52 days

The latest footage shows the chilling low-ceilinged basement with bare walls where the boy was imprisoned

The latest footage shows the chilling low-ceilinged basement with bare walls where the boy was imprisoned

A seven-year-old boy hugs his parents after he was rescued 52 days after being abducted by an alleged paedophile as he walked home from school in Gorki village, Vladimir region, Russia

A seven-year-old boy hugs his parents after he was rescued 52 days after being abducted by an alleged paedophile as he walked home from school in Gorki village, Vladimir region, Russia

Russian special forces cut through a steel door and broke a window to enter the lair where he was held.

The ‘brainwashed’ boy ‘laughed with joy’ when they entered but later cried.

Kopylov was snared after allegedly boasting about holding the boy in chats between paedophiles on the dark web.

The latest footage shows the chilling low-ceilinged basement with bare walls where the boy was imprisoned.

The spooky underground bunker with a jail-style bed and a heater was sound insulated beneath Kopylov’s house in Makarikha, Vladimir region, some 185 miles from Moscow.

A hatch led to an even lower level.

The alleged kidnapper lived upstairs.

His kidnapper was later named as Dmitry Kopylov (pictured), 26, who is alleged to have have sexually abused the boy, said reports citing law enforcement

Kopylov, pictured being arrested above, was snared after allegedly boasting about holding the boy in chats between paedophiles on the dark web

His kidnapper was later named as Dmitry Kopylov (pictured), 26, who is alleged to have have sexually abused the boy, said reports citing law enforcement

When heavily armed officers stormed the building the suspect was sitting with the boy on a sofa.

Footage shows Kopylov being held by special forces officers.

While still in the hell hole, the boy – in the arms of a plainclothes Russian policeman – is heard berating the officers for smashing the window when they broke in.

The seven year old said: ‘You shouldn’t have broken this window.’

The officer told him not to worry since he would soon be going back to his mother and father.

The policeman said: ‘Do you want to come back here later?

‘Well, if you want to come back, you will.

‘Otherwise, of course, it’s better not to.’

When heavily armed officers stormed the building the suspect was sitting with the boy on a sofa

When heavily armed officers stormed the building the suspect was sitting with the boy on a sofa

Sources said that the boy had been ‘brainwashed’ by his abductor.

A huge search involving thousands of police, army and volunteers had sought to find the boy.

There were acute fears locally that he had been killed – but his parents always maintained hope he would be found alive.

The scene was akin to 1963 thriller The Collector by British author John Fowles when a psychotic young man kidnaps a female art student, said TV Zvezda reporter Alexey Kazannikov who witnessed the newly built basement.

Computer geek Kopylov, from Suzdal, is the son of an electrician and a kindergarten teacher, both dead.

He had bought the house and was carrying out extensive renovations, including the construction of the underground bunker.

Colonel Irina Volk, of the Russian Interior Ministry, said the tip about the boy had been received ‘from foreign colleagues through Interpol channels’.

The boy’s whereabouts had become clear from ‘publications in the shadow segment of the Internet’, she said.

Computer geek Kopylov, from Suzdal, is the son of an electrician and a kindergarten teacher, both dead

Computer geek Kopylov, from Suzdal, is the son of an electrician and a kindergarten teacher, both dead

It is believed US specialists were crucial in establishing the identity of the alleged paedophile with help from agencies in other countries.

Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock said: ‘A young boy is back where he belongs – with his family – thanks to dedicated specialist officers and swift action by authorities around the world.’

But he warned: ‘While we’re truly delighted that this story has a safe ending, many children are still out there awaiting rescue.’

The child, rescued last week, underwent medical checks before going home to his parents.

He is now receiving ‘strong psychological help’, it was revealed.

The boy’s father said: ‘He was very happy to see his mother.

‘He hugged and kissed her.

‘We are overwhelmed with feelings…

‘It is an explosion of emotion and relief that the ordeal is over. Finally he is found.’

source: dailymail.co.uk