Brazil police arrest third suspect in killings of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

The journalist and his indigenous expert companion were both shot, officers said

Demonstrators demand justice for killed British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous activist Bruno Pereira. Getty Images

A third suspect has been arrested in Brazil after the killings of indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the Amazon rainforest nearly two weeks ago.

Brazil’s federal police said Jefferson da Silva Lima, known as Pelado da Dinha, turned himself in at a police station in Atalaia do Norte.

Officers said the suspect would be referred to a custody hearing.

A day after investigators identified remains found buried in a remote part of the Amazon as those of Phillips, police said another set of remains belonged to his guide Pereira.

Pereira andMr Phillips were shot with ammunition typically used for hunting, officers said.

The pair were last seen alive on June 5, sparking a search across a section of the Amazon that is about the size of Austria.

Phillips, 57, was a freelance journalist who had written extensively on issues in the rainforest. Pereira, 41, was an outspoken defender of indigenous rights, who had received multiple death threats for his work.

Jefferson da Silva Lima is the third suspect arrested. AFP

Police commissioner Alex Perez Timoteo told news site G1 that evidence so far indicated the suspect “was at the scene of the crime and actively participated in the double homicide that occurred”.

Two other men are already in prison for their alleged involvement in the killings: Amarildo Oliveira, known as Pelado, and his brother Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, known as Dos Santos.

Phillips and Pereira were last seen in a boat on the Itaquai River, near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia.

Police said on Friday they believe the perpetrators had “acted alone, without there being an intellectual author or criminal organisation behind the crime”.

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  Brazilian federal police officers arrive at a pier with items found during a search for indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state, Brazil. The men have been missing for more than a week. AP

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  A firefighter holds a phone after a backpack was found during a search for indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in remote Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state, Brazil. AP

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  Brazilian soldiers aboard a skiff during the search for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who went missing in a remote part of the Amazon rainforest, near the border with Peru, at Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state. Reuters

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  Brazilian Federal Police officers arrive to join a search operation for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous affairs expert Bruno Pereira in Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state. AP

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  A child of the Mayuruna people watches from a pier at the Atalaia do Norte river shore in Amazonas state, Brazil, as Federal Police and military personnel search for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous affairs expert Bruno Pereira in Javari Valley. AP

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  Brazilian police officers and rescue team members during the search operation for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who went missing in a remote and lawless part of the Amazon rainforest at Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state, Brazil. Reuters

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  Campaigners, friends and supporters of British journalist Dom Phillips and expert on indigenous affairs Bruno Pereira take part in a protest on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro, to draw attention to their disappearance in the Amazon rainforest. AP

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  Federal Police forensics officers examine a boat seized by the task force sent to rescue of missing indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips at the port of the city of Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, Brazil. On Friday, authorities say they found ‘apparently human’ material. AFP

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  Brazilian Federal police officers examine a fishing boat during the search for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who both went missing in the Amazon rainforest more than a week ago. Reuters

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  The Brazilian Army sent helicopters to help in the search for missing indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the municipality of Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state. The two planned a research trip to Javari Valley, a far-flung jungle where illegal fishing, logging, mining and drug trafficking are common. AFP

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  A Brazilian Army helicopter circles the municipality of Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state, in the direction of the Itaquai River, in the search for missing indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips. AFP

The Univaja association of indigenous peoples rejected the police's conclusion.

“These are not just two killers, but an organised group that planned the crime in detail,” Univaja said in a statement.

The group claimed authorities had ignored numerous complaints about the activities of criminal gangs in the area.

The pair's remains were found on Wednesday, after fisherman Pelado confessed to the killing, and took police to the place where he buried the bodies. He told officers that he used a firearm to commit the crime.

The bodies were transported to the capital city of Brasilia for forensic examinations.

The area where Phillips and Pereira went missing has been the scene of violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents.