Brazil police make second arrest in Amazon disappearance

Brazil's federal police said Tuesday they arrested a second suspect in connection with the disappearance of Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Philips in a remote area of the Amazon.

The suspect, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, is a fisherman. He is also the brother of the prime suspect in the case, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, nicknamed "Pelado." Both are aged 41. 

The police also said they recovered ammunition and an oar. 

On Friday, Oseney told AP news agency that he had visited Pelado in jail and was told that local police had tortured him.

Indigenous people who were with Philips and Pereira said Pelado had brandished a rifle at the two men, shortly before they went missing. Witnesses said they saw Peraldo pass at high speed onboard a boat going in the same direction as the boat in which Phillips and Pereira were traveling. 

Peraldo's boat has been seized, and traces of blood on the boat are being analyzed. Personal belongings of the two missing men were found underwater near the home of Pelado. 

Pereira, 41, and Phillips, 57, were last seen June 5 near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia.

Search continues

Authorities had found a backpack, laptop, and other objects submerged in a river on Sunday. However, police on Monday dismissed media reports that the bodies of the two men had been found. The search is still ongoing.

In a letter addressed to the Phillips family, seen by Reuters agency, the Brazilian ambassador in London apologized on Tuesday for passing on incorrect information that bodies had been discovered.

"We understand that we are heading toward the end. The search area has been further reduced," said Eliesio Marubo, a lawyer for Indigenous group Univaja.

Authorities had opened a larger channel in the brush leading to the creek where the belongings were found, allowing for bigger boats to gain access to expand the search, a witness told Reuters.

The pair's disappearance has caused global consternation, with activists, advocates, and environmentalists urging Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to step up the search.

Indigenous protesters, carrying banners depicting the faces of the two men, walked to Brazil's Ministry of Justice in capital Brasilia on Tuesday to demand answers.

Bolsonaro said last week that the two men "were on an adventure that is not recommended" and speculated they could have been executed.

tg/jcg (AFP, AP, Reuters)