Two men have been arrested on suspicion of killing journalist Dom Phillips and his guide, Bruno Pereira. Police say the killers operate independently, but the local population believes the case is linked to organized crime.
Brazilian federal police say remnants found in the Amazon rainforest are the result of a missing supplier Dom Phillipsin. Identity was confirmed by forensic analysis.
Phillips disappears in a remote area near the Peruvian-Colombian border as an indigenous expert Bruno Pereiran with June 5th. He was doing background work for a book on the rainforest. Pereira’s body is also suspected to have been found in the same place, but the identity of the other deceased has not yet been confirmed.
A local fisherman who led police to a graveyard in the rainforest has confessed to killing the men, and his brother has also been arrested on suspicion of the act. In addition to those arrested, police have also issued a search warrant for a third man in connection with the case.
Lots of organized crime in the area
According to police, there are no indications that the case is linked to organized crime. The authorities are of the opinion that the suspects are acting alone, but the local population disagrees. According to the indigenous tribe of Univaja in the area, the cruelty of the crime suggests that Phillips and Pereira faced a criminal organization that made every effort to cover up its tracks during the investigations.
– It was not just two killers, but an organized group that planned the actions in advance, Univaja, who helped in the search for missing men, said in a statement.
The union, which represents local workers, also says there is a lot of violence in the area linked to organized crime. Criminal gangs engage in drug smuggling and fishing for endangered species in the Amazon River Basin, among other places. Authorities have allegedly not intervened in the ongoing criminal activity.