Brazil Police Arrest 2nd Suspect in Case of Missing Pair in Amazon Rainforest

Brazil's federal police said Tuesday that they arrested a second suspect in the case of the missing pair in the Amazon rainforest.

Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and freelance British journalist Dom Phillips went missing in a remote area of the Amazon. They were last seen near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory on June 5.

According to Associated Press, suspect Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, 41, was a fisherman and a brother of the man so far considered as the main suspect in the case, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, also known as Pelado.

In a statement, federal police also said they confiscated ammunition and an oar. However, they did not say why the items were seized, where they were found, or who they belonged to.

It was also unclear why Oseney da Costa de Oliveira was named in the statement, which according to AP, was not a standard procedure of the police force.

Brazil Missing Pair Case: Second Suspect Claimed First Suspect Was Tortured in Jail

Days before his arrest, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira told AP that local police tortured his brother to make him confess to the crime even though he was "innocent."

"He told me he was at his house when they handcuffed him," Oseney said, as told by her brother, whom he visited in jail last week.

The alleged second suspect further noted that the police put his brother on a boat and started to travel to Atalaia do Norte. When they reached the Curupira rivulet, Oseney said they put his brother on another boat, where they beat and tortured him.

"[They] put his head under water, stepped on his leg and pepper-sprayed his face. They also drugged him twice, but I don't know what they used," Oseney noted.

Oseney said police wanted his brother to confess, but he's innocent."

The brothers' mother, Maria de Fátima da Costa, said she was at the Atalaia do Norte port when her son arrived with the police.

She told the AP that Amarildo was taken from the boat wearing a hood, could barely walk on his own, and was soaking wet.

"I told the police he was not a criminal to be treated like that," she noted.

She also said the blood found in her son's boat was likely from a pig he slaughtered a few days before he was arrested. Authorities said the blood was being analyzed in a lab.

Items Belonging to the Missing Pair in Brazil Found in Amazon Rainforerst

On Sunday, Brazil's search teams discovered items belonging to the missing pair. A firefighter said Phillips' backpack was discovered tied to a tree that was half-submerged.

A laptop and other personal items, such as Pereira's health card and clothes, were also found. Indigenous association UNIVAJA has denied unconfirmed reports, speculating that the bodies of two men were found tied to a tree.

The Brazilian police seconded this information. Brazil's police said the information circulating about the bodies of Pereira and Phillips found is without merit. Police are investigating an international network that pays poor fishermen to fish illegally in the Javari Valley reserve.

Pereira, who previously led the local bureau of the government's Indigenous agency, known as FUNAI, has taken part in some operations against illegal fishing. For his work, Pereira had received threats for years.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has once faced tough questioning from Phillips in a news conference over weakening environmental law enforcement. Last week, Bolsonaro speculated that the two men could have been executed.

The said area in Brazil is also known for violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers, government agents, and drug trafficking gangs, who battle for control of waterways to ship cocaine.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

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