A third suspect has been arrested by police in Brazil investigating the Amazon deaths of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira.
The pair went missing on 5 June with Phillips confirmed dead on Friday following forensic tests on human remains found on the banks of the Itaquaí river. Additional remains found at the same site – near the far west town of Atalaia do Norte – have not yet been identified but are expected to belong to Pereira, 41.
Police said on Saturday afternoon that Jefferson da Silva Lima, known as Pelado da Dinha, had turned himself in at the police station in the town.
Two other men are already in custody for alleged involvement in the killings: Amarildo Oliveira, known as Pelado, and his brother, Oseney de Oliveira, known as Dos Santos.
The developments come as family and friends of the two men are said to fear a cover up may be happening after federal police in Brazil said that the men arrested were acting alone.
The statement appeared designed to draw a line under the case, despite suspicions rthat the killings may have been ordered by a criminal group or vested parties angered by Phillips’ investigations into illegal logging in the Amazon.
