A Kiwi is recovering in a Mexican hospital after he was allegedly drugged, kidnapped and beaten at a tourist hotspot two weeks ago, Fairfax is reporting.
Tahne Godkin-Burke described a "nightmarish" ordeal in an interview from his hospital bed.
The 30-year-old said he was beaten in a faeces-covered "torture cell".
Mr Godkin-Burke claimed he was handcuffed to a rail and viciously beaten by men who he believed were police officers. He was able to use his phone to message loved ones to tell them what happened, and to say goodbye.
"I thought this is it, I'm going to die."
The Timaru man left New Zealand in January, travelling to the United States and buying a car before driving to Mexico. He based himself on a beach about 20km from the border city of Tijuana, he told Fairfax.
His adventure took a turn for the worse when he headed to Tijuana to "get a feel for the nightlife".
"I got pretty drunk, and then realised I was too drunk to drive back. I got into the car and went to sleep, but about two hours later a light shone through the window and woke me up."
That flashlight belonged to men dressed as police officers, who told him to get out of his car while they checked for drugs. None were found, but after they left he discovered they had stolen his wallet.
Following their car in a bid to get his money back, he was stopped by another police car. This time, the men took his remaining money, about NZ$1447. With no money to carry on his trip, he went back to the beach and began selling "small amounts" of marijuana obtained from American friends.
He was unaware he was encroaching on the turf of a drug cartel, he said. A few days later, he claimed he began to have heart palpitations after he was given a marijuana joint by a friend. The friend told him he had laced the joint with another drug on the orders of cartel members.
Fearing he was dying, Mr Godkin-Burke jumped in his car and sped into Tijuana to go to a hospital. He stumbled out of the car and police cars began to arrive. The men that arrived slammed him into the side of his car and began to beat him, he alleged.
"They smashed me into the tarmac and began beating me brutally."
He believed the men were working with the drug cartel. He claimed he was then bundled into what he believed to be a police car and taken to what he described as "an impromptu torture cell".
He was unable to confirm if the cell was at a police station. He said he was beaten on multiple occasions, leaving him bloodied and bruised.
The men did not take his phone and passport, which were in his pockets. A short time later, Mr Godkin-Burke said his head was smashed into the concrete floor, knocking him out.
He regained consciousness in the back of a van, where he overheard his captors talking about their plans for him.
"They were going to burn me alive."
He started hammering at the doors of the van with his feet. The noise attracted the attention of nearby police officers. They opened the door and found Mr Godkin-Burke, who they bundled from the van to their waiting police car.
He was taken to a municipal jail.
"There were rats in the blankets, it was freezing. It was just nightmarish."
He was released 48 hours later, badly bruised and unable to walk.
A cleaning lady at the police station called the Red Cross. He was transported by ambulance to a Red Cross hospital, before being moved to another hospital later.
A staff member at the medical facility confirmed Mr Godkin-Burke's injuries and that he was picked up from a police station.
The whole saga was like "something out of a movie", Mr Godkin-Burke said.
"After my lovely wee life in New Zealand, it's blissful out there, to go into this belies belief."
The ordeal had also taken a toll on his mother, Cheryl Godkin.
"I thought he was dead. He's just so lucky to be alive," she told Fairfax.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said the ministry was following up Mr Godkin-Burke's situation through the New Zealand and British embassies in Mexico.
