A fisherman confesses to the Brazilian Police to have shot them and buried them in the jungle, where the authorities have found two bodies
Bitter end in the search for the British journalist and the indigenist who have disappeared in the Amazon since last day 5. One of the two suspects detained in the case, Amarildo da Cosa de Oliveira, has confessed to having shot them and buried their bodies in an area of very difficult access from the jungle, reported the Brazilian Federal Police, who found human remains in the place indicated by the fisherman. The arrested man “recounted in detail the crime committed. There was a confrontation. In principle (Oliveira) alleges that (they died) by firearm, “explained this Thursday Eduardo Alexandre Fontes, head of the body.
The authorities went to the location provided by the suspect, in the Valle del Yavarí region, and found two bodies. “Because of the confession, there are great possibilities” that they correspond to the ‘freelance’ Dom Phillips and the indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, “but we will only be sure after the identification tests.”
Investigations continue to determine the circumstances and motive for the crime, as well as Oliveira’s exact role. His brother Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, who denies having participated in the murder, has also been arrested since Tuesday, although the Police have “evidence against him.” Fontes added that “we have indications regarding another (third) person that we are investigating.” However, according to ‘GloboNews’, there are two more suspects of direct participation in the death of Phillips and Pereira: a presumed person involved in the attempt to hide the mortal remains, already collected by the Police and sent for analysis, and a possible Intelectual author.
Through a reconstruction of the route that the criminals would have taken, the Federal Guard began this Thursday the search for the boat in which the victims were traveling, involved in an investigation for a book on environmental conservation and local development. According to the Brazilian newspaper ‘O Globo’, the boat was sunk in a river after the crime.
Relationship with drug trafficking
The Police are also investigating whether there is a relationship in the case with money laundering for drug trafficking and the sale of illegal fish, according to ‘Globo’, which indicates that Pereira seized boats that were transporting tons of pirarucus – the most valuable fish in the local market. and exported to several countries- and tracajás -species of turtle considered a spice and offered in restaurants-. The newspaper affirms that Pereira’s action frustrated the interests of drug trafficker Rubens Villar Coelho, who uses the sale of animals to launder drug money produced in Peru and Colombia, for which “there is suspicion” that he ordered Oliveira to put “Bruno’s head up for auction”.
Organizations such as HRW or Greenpeace urged the Brazilian authorities on Thursday to continue with the exhaustive investigation into the murder. Amnesty International also attacked the president, Jair Bolsonaro, for his “cruel and insensitive comments”, in which he stated that, if they fell into the river, “little will be left” of their bodies.
#journalist #indigenist #disappeared #Amazon #murdered