Police find Pereira, Phillips’s speedboat sunk in river

Agents investigating the murders of indigenous expert Bruno Araújo Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips have located the speedboat in which the pair were traveling when they were ambushed and killed on June 5.

The boat was submerged some 20 meters deep in the Itacoaí river, near the community of Cachoeira, Amazonas state, North Brazil, local police reported. The weight of at least six sandbags tied to the boat prevented it from surfacing, which is why it could not be retrieved earlier.

Along with the boat, a 40-hp motor and four drums used by Pereira were found, said police commissioner Alex Perez.

The exact spot where the speedboat was discovered was indicated by Jeferson da Silva Lima. Known as Pelado da Dinha, Lima was arrested last Saturday (Jun 18), for his suspected involvement in the murders of Pereira and Philips, whose remains were recovered on the June 15.

The place where the “human remains”—as designated by the authorities—were buried was pointed out by fisherman Amarildo da Costa Oliveira. Known as Pelado, Oliveira was the first suspect arrested over his participation in the crime. According to the Federal Police, he confessed his participation in the disappearance of the indigenous advocate and the British journalist. The remains were buried in a densely wooded area, some three kilometers from the Itacoaí river.

The second suspect, temporarily arrested on June 14, is Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, known as Dos Santos.

In addition, the Federal Police stated yesterday (19) they are looking into the involvement of another five over the concealment of the bodies. Investigations continue, in a bid to cast further light on the causes of the murders and if other people are involved. The Federal Police added no evidence found so far shows the crime had been committed at someone else’s behest. The criminals are believed to have acted on their own initiative.

In a note, local indigenous association UNIVAJA disagreed with the conclusion drawn by the Federal Police. The group—for which Bruno worked since he took an unpaid leave from his position at Brazil’s national indigenous foundation FUNAI—claims to have provided information on criminal organizations active in the region that could be responsible for the deaths of the indigenous activist and the journalist. In the statement, the association requests that probes continue and that no hypotheses be discarded.

“We demand that investigations continue and intensify. We demand that the Federal Police consider the qualified information we have relayed on to them in our letters. This is the only way we may have the opportunity to live in peace once again in our territory—the Vale do Javari,” the text reads.Victims

Victims

Dom Phillips, contributor to British daily The Guardian, and Bruno Pereira, FUNAI official on leave, were last seen on the morning of June 5 in the region of the Vale do Javari indigenous reserve, Brazil’s second largest, with over 8.5 million hectares.

The area is home to the largest number of uncontacted or recently contacted indigenous peoples in the world. The two were on their way from the riverside community of São Rafael to the town of Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, when they disappeared without a trace.

The indigenous advocate had reported he had been threatened in the region, which was confirmed by the Federal Police. An inquiry was opened on the matter. Bruno Pereira was working as a collaborator with UNIVAJA, an association run by local indigenous people aimed at protecting the reserve from invasion by fishermen, hunters, and drug dealers.