A third suspect has been arrested in Brazil after the killings of indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the Amazon rainforest nearly two weeks ago.
Brazil’s federal police said Jefferson da Silva Lima, known as Pelado da Dinha, turned himself in at a police station in Atalaia do Norte.
Officers said the suspect would be referred to a custody hearing.
A day after investigators identified remains found buried in a remote part of the Amazon as those of Phillips, police said another set of remains belonged to his guide Pereira.
Pereira andMr Phillips were shot with ammunition typically used for hunting, officers said.
The pair were last seen alive on June 5, sparking a search across a section of the Amazon that is about the size of Austria.
Phillips, 57, was a freelance journalist who had written extensively on issues in the rainforest. Pereira, 41, was an outspoken defender of indigenous rights, who had received multiple death threats for his work.
Police commissioner Alex Perez Timoteo told news site G1 that evidence so far indicated the suspect “was at the scene of the crime and actively participated in the double homicide that occurred”.
Two other men are already in prison for their alleged involvement in the killings: Amarildo Oliveira, known as Pelado, and his brother Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, known as Dos Santos.
Phillips and Pereira were last seen in a boat on the Itaquai River, near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia.
Police said on Friday they believe the perpetrators had “acted alone, without there being an intellectual author or criminal organisation behind the crime”.
The Univaja association of indigenous peoples rejected the police's conclusion.
“These are not just two killers, but an organised group that planned the crime in detail,” Univaja said in a statement.
The group claimed authorities had ignored numerous complaints about the activities of criminal gangs in the area.
The pair's remains were found on Wednesday, after fisherman Pelado confessed to the killing, and took police to the place where he buried the bodies. He told officers that he used a firearm to commit the crime.
The bodies were transported to the capital city of Brasilia for forensic examinations.
The area where Phillips and Pereira went missing has been the scene of violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Hot%20Seat
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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