British journalist Dom Phillips and the indigenous expert Bruno According to a regional indigenous organization, Pereira did not arrive by boat on June 5 in the city of Atalaia do Norte in far western Brazil as planned. Since then they have been missing. Pereira had previously reported to the police that he had been threatened several times. He had recorded illegal activities in the Vale do Javari for the authorities. The case caused a stir across Brazil. President Jair Bolsonaro said: “There is evidence that terrible things were done to the missing.”
The man who has now been arrested will be interrogated and brought to a hearing in Atalaia do Norte in the far west of Brazil, the Brazilian news portal “G1” reported on Tuesday evening (local time), citing the federal police.
Accordingly, the arrested person was a fisherman, the brother of the only suspect arrested up to that point. Nine people have been questioned so far, including the wife of the first person arrested.
Regional media speculated Phillips and Pereira may have been the victims of an ambush on behalf of drug dealers. Another line of investigation looks at illegal fish farming and hunting. Concrete clues as to what exactly happened have not yet been released.
According to the media, personal belongings of the two men were found a good week after their disappearance. There have been conflicting reports that the bodies of the missing people have been found. The search in the Vale do Javari continued.
Covering an area larger than that of Austria, the Javari Valley is one of the largest indigenous areas in Brazil. Many indigenous people live in isolation there. The border area with Peru and Colombia is also particularly conflict-ridden and dangerous due to illegal prospecting for gold, deforestation, fishing and hunting as well as drug smuggling.
Source: Nachrichten
