Third suspect for murders in the Amazon turns himself in to the police

A third suspected of participating in the murder of the British journalist Dom Phillips and the indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in the Amazon Brazilian was delivered this Saturday morning, announced the Federal Police (PF).

Jeferson da Silva Lima, known as ‘Pelado da Dinha’, “who was an outlaw, turned himself in at the Atalaia do Norte police station,” in the west of the state of Amazonas, and “will be questioned,” the police said in a statement. which released a photo of the detainee, a short man, wearing a cap and a red shirt.

LOOK: Crime and impunity in the Yavarí Valley, the place where a journalist and his companion disappeared

In statements to the G1 news site, Commissioner Alex Perez Timóteo stated that, according to all the evidence and testimonies collected, ‘Pelado da Dinha’ “was at the scene of the crime and actively participated in the double homicide that occurred.”

This third arrest comes hours after the PF announced that the remains of Phillips, 57, were identified among the “material” found in the place where the first detainee, fisherman Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, known as ‘Pelado ‘, he confessed to having buried it next to the body of Pereira, 41 years old.

LOOK: Personal belongings of missing British reporter and expert found in Brazil

The conclusions about whether the other human remains found correspond to Pereira have not yet been revealed. According to the local press, the PF is looking for a fourth suspect, information not officially confirmed.

Phillips and Pereira were in the Amazon doing research for a book on environmental conservation.

They were last seen on June 5, when they were on their way to Atalaia do Norte by boat. From there, a good part of the military began to withdraw this Friday, many of them heavily armed, deployed for search work, AFP journalists confirmed.

The city is in the Javarí Valley, which is home to a huge indigenous reserve near the border with Peru and known for its danger. Drug traffickers, fishermen and illegal miners operate there.

The police said on Friday that their investigations indicate that the criminal gangs operating in the region are not related to the double murder, but the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javarí Valley (Univaja), whose members actively participated in the searches, said that “an organized group planned the crime in detail.”

The case of Phillips and Pereira sparked a wave of international solidarity and once again inflamed criticism against the government of far-right Jair Bolsonaro, accused of encouraging invasions of indigenous lands and sacrificing the preservation of the Amazon for economic exploitation.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.