Investigators claimed on Wednesday that they had discovered human remains in their search for British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira after a suspect confessed to killing them in the Amazon rainforest.
According to investigator Eduardo Fontes, the suspect, a fisherman who had feuded with Pereira over his efforts to prevent illicit fishing on indigenous land, led police to a distant burial location where the bones were discovered.
The news brings to an end a matter that has piqued international interest, hovering over President Jair Bolsonaro during a regional gathering and causing concern in the British Parliament.
Phillips, a freelance reporter who has written for the Guardian and the Washington Post, was doing research for a book about the journey with Pereira, a former head of the federal indigenous affairs agency Funai’s isolated and recently encountered tribes.
The bodies of two men have been discovered by police in the Brazilian Amazon, close to where British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira went missing ten days ago. Regional police commander Eduardo Fontes claimed one of the two individuals arrested in connection with the pair’s disappearance admitted to killing them at a press conference late Wednesday.
Watch: Progress in Amazon missing case, second suspect arrested by police
They were in the Javari Valley, a remote rainforest area near the Colombia-Peru border that is home to the world’s biggest population of uncontacted indigenous people. Illegal fishers, hunters, loggers, and miners have infiltrated the area, and authorities say it is a major drug trafficking route.
Also Read: Family of a British journalist who has gone missing in Amazon calls for deeper search
Amarildo da Costa, aka “Pelado,” a fisherman who was arrested last week on firearms charges, was already named as the primary suspect. On Tuesday night, his brother, Oseney da Costa, 41, also known as “Dos Santos,” was arrested.
The boys’ public defenders could not be reached for comment right away. The relatives of the suspects had previously denied any involvement in the men’s disappearance.
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