SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva turned himself in to federal police on Saturday, after supporters tried to prevent him from handing himself over to the authorities.

After supporters blocked his vehicle, Lula left the headquarters of the Metalworkers' Union in this city in Sao Paulo state on foot.

The embattled former head of state had spent the last two nights in the building, where he began his political career as a union leader.