Fourth arrest in Amazon murders of journalists, signpost: police

A fourth person has been arrested as part of the probe into the killings of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in the Amazon last month, authorities said on Friday.

The man turned himself in to the police to deny claims in the press that he might have ordered the killings, Amazonas State Police Chief Eduardo Fontes told reporters.

He was arrested for allegedly presenting forged identity documents.

Fontes said the man, known as “Colombia,” told police he was buying goods from fishermen in the area where the killings happened.

He said one of his suppliers is Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, known as “Pelado,” who is in custody after confessing his role in the crime.

Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41, were shot dead while returning from an expedition into a remote rainforest region plagued by drug trafficking, illegal gold mining and fishing.

Phillips, the author of dozens of articles on the Amazon and a longtime contributor to The Guardian newspaper and other major news organizations, traveled to the Javari Valley as part of research for an upcoming book.

Pereira served as his guide and had previously traveled to the area with him.

An outspoken advocate of indigenous rights, Pereira had received several death threats before his death.

Police are investigating a possible link to illegal fishing on protected indigenous land as a motive for the murder.

“We are investigating whether this person known as ‘Colombia’ … is participating in an illegal fishing program, whether he is funding this activity,” Fontes said, adding the man has denied any involvement.

“We don’t know what his true identity is,” Fontes added.

The man has documents from Brazil, Colombia and Peru, each under a different name, he said.

Three men are jailed for the murders and five others are accused of helping dispose of the bodies, which were found ten days after the couple’s disappearance.