PF arrests main accomplice in the deaths of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips

The Federal Police arrested, this Thursday (18), an informant classified as the “main accomplice” of the person behind the murder of indigenous man Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips. The suspect, who passed on information that would have contributed to the crime, was not named and was arrested in Tabatinga (AM) following an arrest warrant issued by the city's 1st Criminal Court.

In June 2022, Bruno and Dom were killed in Atalaia do Norte (AM), close to the Vale do Javari Indigenous Land. They were investigating an illegal fishing scheme in the region.

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Appointed as the mastermind of the crimeRubens Villar Coelho, known as “Colombia”, has been imprisoned in Manaus since December 2022. He was out of jail for two months, but returned to prison for failing to comply with the terms of his provisional release.

“Colombia” faces accusations of forging identity documents and leading an armed transnational criminal organization, investigated by another investigation investigating an illegal fishing and smuggling scheme in western Amazonas.

A month ago, the Federal Police had arrested a man who worked as a security guard in “Colombia”. He was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm when agents were carrying out a search and seizure warrant at his home.

Remember the case

Victims of an ambush, Bruno and Dom were killed on June 5, 2022, while traveling by boat through the Vale do Javari region. The duo was last seen while traveling from the São Rafael community to Atalaia do Norte, where they would meet with indigenous leaders and riverside communities. The bodies were rescued ten days later, buried in a dense forest area, approximately three kilometers from the Itacoaí River channel.

In October last year, the Federal Court in Amazonas ordered that they be taken to a popular jury the three executors: fishermen Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, known as “Pelado”; his brother Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, called “Dos Santos”; and Jefferson da Silva Lima, known as “Pelado da Dinha”. They are preventively detained in federal penitentiaries in Campo Grande (MS) and Catanduvas (PR).

During the investigations, Rubem Dario da Silva Villar, “Colombia”, was indicted as the mastermind of the murders, as well as others involved in the criminal scheme. Colombia is arrested in Manaus for forging identity documents and heading an armed transnational criminal organization, in another investigation that investigated illegal fishing and smuggling.

As investigations continued, it was found in several documents that Colombia had an armed security guard and was running his criminal organization through information received by this security guard.