Phillip Smith's lawyer believes the convicted murderer may be deported from Brazil within a matter of days, Radio New Zealand reports.
Smith was detained at the Cidade Maravilhosa Hostel in the Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood of Santa Teresa about 2am NZ time yesterday.
He fled New Zealand last Thursday while on a 72-hour release from prison, using a passport issued under his legal surname of Traynor. Smith is now facing immigration charges in Brazil.
Lawyer Tony Ellis said the latest information from the New Zealand Embassy in Brazil was that Smith was in a remand centre, but neither the embassy, nor Dr Ellis had been able to contact him.
Dr Ellis said time zones had hampered his ability to secure an English-speaking lawyer to represent Smith.
“He will need a local lawyer who knows the system - that is if he hasn't been deported in the next few days anyway, which to my mind is quite a possibility.”
