Two suspects have confessed to killing and dismembering British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, TV Globo reported on Wednesday, citing police sources, after the men disappeared for more than a week in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.
Federal police had said in a previous statement that they were still searching for Phillips and Pereira in what they described as a homicide investigation after arresting the suspects. Band News also reported that at least one of the suspects had confessed.
Reuters witnesses saw police carrying a masked, hooded man who they described as a suspect in the river where the men were missing. Police did not comment on the alleged confession.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday afternoon that he hoped the case would be resolved in the next few hours.
Police identified the suspects as fisherman Amarildo da Costa, also known as Pelado, who was arrested last week on gun charges, and his brother Oseney da Costa, 41, or Dos Santos, who was arrested Tuesday night.
Oseney da Costa, in the center, is being escorted by federal police officers to a police station in Atalaia do Norte, Brazil, on Tuesday. (Avener / Prado-Public Agency via AP)
The family of the suspects has denied having played a role in the disappearance of the men. The public advocates representing the brothers could not be contacted immediately for comment.
Reports suggest a sad conclusion to a case that has raised global alarm, hung over Bolsonaro at a regional summit last week and sparked concern on Wednesday in the British Parliament.
Phillips, a freelance journalist who has written for the Guardian and the Washington Post, was investigating a book about the trip with Pereira, a former chief of isolated and recently contacted tribes at the federal agency of indigenous affairs, Funai.
They were in a remote area of the jungle near the border with Colombia and Peru called the Javari Valley, which is home to the largest number of uncontacted indigenous people in the world. The region has been invaded by illegal fishermen, hunters, loggers and miners, and police call it a key route for drug trafficking.
The brothers were seen gathering in the Itaquai River shortly after Phillips and Pereira passed away on June 5, a witness told police in a report seen by Reuters.
Federal police are due to arrive in Atalaia do Norte, Brazil, on Tuesday. (Joao Laet / AFP / Getty Images)
The police report said witnesses heard Pereira say he had received threats from Amarildo da Costa. In his previous role with Funai, Pereira had been instrumental in stopping the illegal gold mining and fishing of poachers in rivers inhabited by indigenous Javari tribes.
The news of the men’s disappearance resonated worldwide, with human rights organizations, environmentalists and freedom of the press urging Bolsonaro to step up research.
Bolsonaro, who once faced a harsh interrogation of Phillips at a news conference on the weakening of environmental law enforcement, said last week that the two men “were on an adventure that is not recommended.” .
A protester holding a poster with images of Phillips, left, and Pereira in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. (Bruna Prado / The Associated Press)
On Wednesday, Bolsonaro suggested that Phillips had become enemies by writing about environmental issues.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament on Wednesday that he was deeply concerned about Phillips’ disappearance and said his government was working with Brazilian authorities to investigate the case.
“What we have told the Brazilians is that we are ready to offer all the support they may need,” he said.