Brazilian police are questioning FIVE suspects over murders of British journalist Dom Phillips and an indigenous expert after human remains were found on Wednesday deep in the Amazon rainforest
- Five suspects are now being questioned by police after two brothers confessed to murders earlier this week
- Three are suspected in the killings – the remaining two may have concealed evidence and ordered the hit
- Police hunting for Phillips and indigenous expert Pereira found human remains on Wednesday evening
- Cops were led to the spot by Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira after he confessed to shooting both men dead
- Bodies still need to be formally identified but there is little doubt they belong to Phillips and Pereira
- Alessandra Sampaio, Mr Philip’s wife, said find ‘puts an end to the anguish of not knowing’ what happened
Brazilian police are now questioning five suspects thought to be involved in the murders British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira.
Two of the five suspects are brothers Oseney and Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, who on Wednesday confessed to murdering the pair with a firearm and covering up their remains.
But Brazilian detectives are believed to be interrogating three other individuals, at least one of whom is thought to have had a hand in the murders.
The remaining two are suspected of helping conceal the remains of Mr Phillips and Mr Pereira and ordering the hit, according to federal police officers who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Cops still need to formally identify the remains they discovered on Wednesday evening, but there is little doubt they belong to the 57-year-old father-of-three reporter and the indigenous expert, 41, who vanished while on an expedition 10 days ago.
Investigators were led to the spot – deep in a remote part of the Amazon near the border with Peru – by prime suspect Amarildo, who has now confessed to shooting and dismembering the pair.
Alessandra Sampaio, Mr Philip’s wife who issued a tearful plea for information on her husband last week, said the discovery ‘puts an end to the anguish of not knowing Dom and Bruno’s whereabouts.’
‘Now we can bring them home and say goodbye with love,’ she added. ‘Today, we also begin our quest for justice. I hope investigators exhaust all possibilities and bring definitive answers on all details as soon as possible.’
Cops have not yet disclosed a motive for the murders, but it is believed Mr Phillips and Mr Pereira were targeted because of their work defending the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon whose lands and livelihoods are increasingly at risk from illegal mining and logging operations that have been given tactic support by President Jair Bolsonaro.
The area where they vanished is also criss-crossed by drug smuggling routes, operated by ruthless gangs.
Pictured: British journalist Dom Phillips, 57, whose remains are thought to have been discovered
Police with a man believed to be Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira in Brazil’s Amazonas state of Atalaia do Norte on June 15, 2022
Oseney da Costa, 41, or ‘Dos Santos,’ is pictured leaving a courthouse in Atalia do Norte, Brazil on Wednesday June 15 after he was detained by military and civil officers the previous night
Federal Police officers escort a man accused of being involved with the disappearance of missing British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in Atalaia do Norte on June 15, 2022
Mr Phillips went missing in the Amazon with Brazilian companion Bruno Araújo Pereira, pictured
The Javari region is an area notorious for illegal mining and drug trafficking, and the pair had reportedly faced threats before their disappearance
Federal Policemen carry seized material, pictured Tuesday, including an oar during a search operation for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira
Federal Police officers seen Tuesday conducting a search operation for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro (pictured speaking in Florida, USA on Saturday) said he expected the case to be wrapped up ‘in the coming hours’
Pictured: Federal police officers carrying boxes at the pier after searching for Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and freelance British journalist Dom Phillips in Atalaia do Norte
The family of British journalist Dom Phillips said they are ‘heartbroken’ after they were informed his body and that of Brazilian indigenous affairs official Bruno Araujo have been recovered.
A statement posted on Twitter on behalf of his sister Sian Phillips, brother Gareth Phillips, Sian’s partner Paul Sherwood, his sister-in-law Helen Davies and nieces Domanique Daviester and Rhiannon Davies, said: ‘Early this morning we were informed that two bodies have been recovered from a remote location after a confession from one of the men in custody.
‘We are heartbroken at the confirmation that Dom and Bruno were murdered and extend our deepest sympathies to Alessandra, Beatriz and the other Brazilian family members of both men.
‘We are grateful to all those who have taken part in the search, especially the indigenous groups who worked tirelessly to find evidence of the attack.
‘In due course we will offer our perspective on the courageous lives and important work of these remarkable men but for the moment, we request that representatives of the media allow the family some peace to deal privately with what has happened to their beloved Dom.
‘We thank the many people who have joined us in urging the authorities to intensify the search and those who have reached out with wards of comfort and sympathy.’
Bolsonaro has made no secret of his desire to industralise the world’s largest rainforest often referred to as ‘the lung of the planet’, and under his leadership the forest has been hacked back at a record pace.
The far-right firebrand, who is facing both domestic protests and international scorn over his handling of Mr Phillips’ disappearance, yesterday attempted to shift blame on to the journalist himself.
Alessandra Sampaio, Mr Phillips’ wife, said bodies have been found in the Amazon
Bolsonaro said Phillips ‘was frowned upon in the Amazon region’ for reporting on illegal mining activities and should have paid more attention ‘to himself’ rather than to exposing the activities of others.
Suggesting that Mr Phillips was at least partially responsible for his own murder, Bolsonaro added that he ‘decided to enter a completely inhospitable area alone, without security,’ according to Folha de Sao Paulo.
Amnesty International said Bolsonaro’s ‘cruel and insensitive comments… characterized the insensitivity of the authorities’ management in the search for the two men’.
It comes after former Tory prime minister Theresa May insisted the UK must do ‘everything it can’ to press Brazilian authorities to uncover the truth about the disappearances.
Mrs May made the plea on Wednesday to Boris Johnson in the House of Commons after police arrested a second suspect in connection with the case.
The Prime Minister replied: ‘FCDO officials are working closely now with the Brazilian authorities following his disappearance on June 5. The minister responsible has raised the issue repeatedly, the search and rescue efforts, with Brazil’s justice and public security minister and what we told the Brazilians is we stand ready to provide all the support that they may need.’
Mr Pereira and Mr Phillips were last seen on their boat in a river near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia. That area has seen violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents.
Developments began moving Wednesday when federal police officers took a suspect they didn’t identify at the time out on the river toward search parties looking for Phillips and Pereira.
An Associated Press photographer in Atalaia do Norte, the city closest to the search zone, witnessed police taking the suspect, who was in a hood.
On Tuesday, police said they had arrested a second suspect in connection with the disappearance. He was identified as Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, 41, a fisherman and a brother of Pelado, who police already had characterized as their main suspect.
Police investigators said Wednesday that de Oliveira had not confessed to any participation in the crime, but added they had evidence against him.
Indigenous people who were with Mr Pereira and Mr Phillips have said that Pelado brandished a rifle at them on the day before the pair disappeared.
Official search teams concentrated their efforts around a spot in the Itaquai river where a tarp from the boat used by the missing men was found Saturday by volunteers from the Matis Indigenous group.
Authorities began scouring the area and discovered a backpack, laptop and other personal belongings submerged underwater Sunday. Police said that evening that they had identified the items as the belongings of both missing men, including a health card and clothes of Pereira. The backpack was said to belong to Phillips.
Police previously reported finding traces of blood in Pelado’s boat. Officers also found organic matter of apparent human origin in the river that was sent for analysis.
Flavia Farias (R), a relative of Dom Phillips, cries with her friend Luis Fabiano (L) during a protest against their disappearances
Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira was taken into custody by authorities in Amazonas, Brazil. His family claim he has been waterboarded by police in an effort to extract a confession
The Amazon hunt for missing British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira was set to continue today. Pictured: Indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest take part in the search for the missing men in in Vale do Javari on Monday
Pictured: Boats belonging to members of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (UNIVAJA) are seen in this aerial photograph during the search for the two missing men
Brazilian officials suggest disappearance of British journalist and his local guide may be linked to ‘fish mafia’
Mr Pereira and Mr Phillips were last seen on their boat in a river near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia. That area has seen violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents.
Authorities have said a main line of the police investigation into the disappearance has pointed to an international network that pays poor fishermen to fish illegally in the Javari Valley reserve, which is Brazil’s second-largest Indigenous territory.
Pereira, who previously led the local bureau of the federal Indigenous agency, known as FUNAI, took part in several operations against illegal fishing. In such operations, as a rule the fishing gear is seized or destroyed, while the fishermen are fined and briefly detained. Only the Indigenous can legally fish in their territories.
‘The crime’s motive is some personal feud over fishing inspection,’ Atalaia do Norte’s Mayor Denis Paiva speculated to reporters without providing more details.
While some police, the mayor and others in the region link the pair’s disappearances to the ‘fish mafia,’ federal police have not ruled rule out other lines of investigation, such as narco trafficking.
Authorities have said a main line of the police investigation into the disappearance has pointed to an international network that pays poor fishermen to fish illegally in the Javari Valley reserve, which is Brazil’s second-largest Indigenous territory.
Pereira, who previously led the local bureau of the federal Indigenous agency, known as FUNAI, took part in several operations against illegal fishing. In such operations, as a rule the fishing gear is seized or destroyed, while the fishermen are fined and briefly detained. Only the Indigenous can legally fish in their territories.
‘The crime’s motive is some personal feud over fishing inspection,’ Atalaia do Norte’s Mayor Denis Paiva speculated to reporters without providing more details.
While some police, the mayor and others in the region link the pair’s disappearances to the ‘fish mafia,’ federal police have not ruled rule out other lines of investigation, such as narco trafficking.
Torres, the federal police officer, reiterated that point Wednesday night, saying he could not discuss specifics of the investigation.
‘We are working with several lines of investigation,’ he said.
Another officer, Guilherme Torres of the Amazonas state police, said the missing men’s boat had not been found yet but police knew the area where it purportedly was hidden by those involved in the crime.
‘They put bags of dirt on the boat so it would sink,’ he said. The engine of the boat was removed, according to investigators.
The news conference at Brazil’s federal police headquarters in Manaus also included military leaders, who joined the effort to find Phillips and Pereira a few days after their disappearance was reported.
President Jair Bolsonaro, a frequent critic of journalists and Indigenous experts, has drawn criticism that the government didn’t get involved fast enough. Earlier on Wednesday, he criticized Phillips in an interview, saying without evidence that locals in the area where he went missing didn’t like him and that he should have been more careful in the region.
The efforts to find the two were started by Indigenous peoples in the region. UNIVAJA, an association of Indigenous peoples of the Javari Valley, mourned the loss of ‘two partners’ in a statement Wednesday, adding they only had help and protection from local police.
As federal police announced they would hold a news conference, colleagues of Pereira called a vigil outside the headquarters of the Brazilian government’s Indigenous affairs agency in Brasilia. Pereira was on leave from the agency.
The two men were on a reporting trip in the remote jungle area near the border with Peru and Colombia that is home to the world’s largest number of uncontacted indigenous people.
The wild and lawless region has lured cocaine-smuggling gangs, along with illegal loggers, miners and hunters.
News of the pair’s disappearance resonated globally, with Brazilian icons from soccer great Pele to singer Caetano Veloso joining politicians, environmentalists and human rights activists in urging President Jair Bolsonaro to step up the search.
Reuters witnesses saw the stretch of riverbank were Mayaruna discovered the clothing cordoned off by police on Sunday morning as investigators scoured the area, with a half dozen boats ferrying police, soldiers and firefighters back and forth.
Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro (pictured last week) announced yesterday that human remains had been found in the search, saying ‘something wicked’ had been done to them
Pictured: An indigenous member of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley trecks through the rainforest during the search for Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira
Pictured: Indigenous members of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley search for clues as to the whereabouts of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira
Pictured: Indigenous members of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley search for clues as to the whereabouts of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira
Pictured: Boats belonging to indigenous members of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley as they search for clues as to the whereabouts of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira
Indigenous people march to protest against the disappearance of Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and freelance British journalist Dom Phillips, in Atalaia do Norte, Vale do Javari, Amazonas state, Brazil, Monday, June 13, 202
Dozens of indigenous protesters marched Monday (pictured) in Atalaia do Norte, the small city Phillips and Pereira had been headed to, demanding answers on their whereabouts
Pictured: Indigenous people protest over the disappearance of Phillips and Pereira on Monday
People hold signs during a vigil following the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in front of the headquarters of Brazil’s National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), in Brasilia, Brazil June 13, 2022
A woman cries during a demonstration to protest the disappearance, in the Amazon, of British journalist Dom Phillips and expert on indigenous affairs Bruno Araujo Pereira, in Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, June 12, 2022
Federal police officers arrive at the pier with items found during a search for Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and freelance British journalist Dom Phillips in Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state, Brazil, Sunday, June 12
Police officers and rescue team members sit on a boat during the search operation for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira on Sunday
Phillips talks to two indigenous men while visiting a community in Roraima, Brazil, on November 16, 2019
Bruno Pereira takes part in an Indigenous protest in Brasilia, Brazil, 2019 in this picture obtained by Reuters on June 10, 202
Bolsonaro, who last year faced tough questioning from Phillips at news conferences about weakening environmental law enforcement in Brazil, said last week that the two men ‘were on an adventure that is not recommended’ and suggested that they could have been executed.
State police detectives involved in the investigation have told Reuters they are focusing on poachers and illegal fisherman in the area, who clashed often with Pereira as he organised indigenous patrols of the local reservation.
Some 150 soldiers had been deployed via riverboats to hunt for the missing men and interview locals, joining indigenous search teams who had been looking for the pair for more than a week.
A GoFundMe page to aid the efforts to help Phillips and Pereira’s family has also been set up, raising $37,139 (£30,765).
Friends of the pair said: ‘At this tragic moment, when these families have so much to worry about, money should not be another concern.
‘Dom, Bruno, Alê, Beatriz, and their children need our help not only to pay the bills, but also to cover new costs that emerge as they continue the search. Even the smallest donation is valuable.
‘Together we can show that these brave souls are not alone and that we are united behind them.’
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