Two brothers arrested for the disappearance of a British journalist in Amazon


Brazilian police have arrested a second suspect in the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous official Bruno Pereira in a remote area of ​​the Amazon. Phillips, 57, and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, 41, went missing from a remote part of the Amazon last week and are believed to have been last seen on June 5 in the community of Sao Rafael.

The suspect, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, 41, is a fisherman and brother of the man until now considered by the police to be the main suspect in the case, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, also 41, nicknamed Pelado. Federal police also said in a statement that they seized ammunition and an oar, but did not say why the items were seized, who they belonged to or where they were found.

De Oliveira told The Associated Press last Friday that he had visited Pelado in jail and was told that local police had tortured Pelado in his own boat, which was also seized by authorities. Federal police did not immediately respond to an AP request asking why Oseney da Costa de Oliveira was named in his statement, which is not standard force procedure.

Yesterday (Tuesday), the Brazilian ambassador to the UK apologized to the family of Mr Phillips after they were incorrectly told that his body had been found. According to The Guardian, the family received a call from an aide to the Brazilian ambassador to the UK early Monday morning saying his bodies had been discovered tied to trees in the rainforest.

However, Phillips’ brother-in-law, Paul Sherwood, confirmed to the PA news agency that Ambassador Fred Arruda had written to the family to say the statement was incorrect. Arruda said: “We deeply regret that the embassy transmitted information to the family yesterday that did not turn out to be correct.”



People take part in a vigil outside the Brazilian Embassy in London for Dom Phillips and Bruno Araujo Pereira, a British journalist and indigenous affairs official who are missing in the Amazon.
People take part in a vigil outside the Brazilian Embassy in London for Dom Phillips and Bruno Araujo Pereira, a British journalist and indigenous affairs official who are missing in the Amazon.

He went on to say that the embassy had been “deceived” by the information it had received from “investigating officials.” Arruda insisted: “The search operation will continue, sparing no effort.”

He added: “Our thoughts remain with Dom, Bruno, you and the other members of both families.” Brazil’s Federal Police said the latest development in the search for the two men was the discovery of their personal items.

In a statement, they said the items included a backpack and a pair of boots belonging to Phillips, as well as a health card, black pants, a black sandal and a pair of boots belonging to Pereira. On Saturday, separate reports emerged that police had discovered human matter in the Itaquai River near the port of Atalaia do Norte.

Authorities earlier said blood found in a suspect’s boat had been sent for testing. A GoFundMe set up by friends of the deceased men fetched $36,704 (£30,500) on Tuesday night.




Reference-www.cambridge-news.co.uk

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