Indigenous expert was investigating the role of the city government in illegal fishing

Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira – who died on June 5, 2022, along with British journalist Dom Phillips, in the Javari Valley (AM) – was mapping the connections of the Atalaia do Norte (AM) city hall with the group involved in poaching and illegal fishing in the Indigenous Land of the Javari Valley. Pereira had started investigating at least two months before the crime in partnership with environmental activists and the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja).
 
The murder of Dom Phillips was the 5^th included in the Tim Lopes Program of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji). The program investigates the killing of journalists while fulfilling their duty to inform. Phillips accompanied Pereira on an expedition through the Javari Valley. Phillips was writing a book on how to save the Amazon, in which he referred to human rights violations in the region.
 
Although this was not his assignment, Pereira had the habit of doing parallel investigations since he began coordinating the branch of the Brazilian government's Indigenous agency, Funai, in the region. In 2013, he mapped a group of merchants from the municipality involved in the retention of cards of Indigenous people benefited by assistance programs, including the federal benefit called Bolsa Família ("Family Grant").
 
The detailed survey listed a network of merchants, with their respective businesses identified by georeferencing data. The report was forwarded to the Feral Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Police, resulting in a large police operation. Among those cited in the survey was Denis Linder Rojas de Paiva, owner of the city's only lottery outlet. Currently, Paiva (União Brazil party) is the mayor of Atalaia do Norte.

Atalaia do Norte, nicknamed "Pearl of Javari."

During the operation, one hundred cards on behalf of members of the five Indigenous ethnic groups were seized at Paiva's outlet and other local traders. The starting point of the investigation was the testimony of members of ethnic groups Kulina, Marubo, Kanamari, Matis, and Mayorona, who had their cards taken. At the time, they were led to deliver their cards as a guarantee to receive the values they were entitled to by the government.
 
Some merchants charged rates from the victims, thus diminishing the value to be received and, consequently, their purchasing power. Univaja representative in Manaus (capital city of the state of Amazonas), Yura Ní-Nawavo Marubo, recalls that merchants said they were retaining the cards to avoid defaults. The merchants said that some Indigenous people bought food on the cuff and paid when the government released the benefits. Marubo contests the version. Despite its repercussion, no merchant was convicted in court. 

In his investigation – also initiated from complaints by Indigenous people – Bruno Pereira would have identified the links of a municipal secretary and at least three officials appointed by the mayor to invade the Indigenous Land for illegal fishing and poaching. One of them is a relative of Amarildo da Costa Oliveira or "Pelado" – one of the men arrested for allegedly participating in the murders of Pereira and Phillips.
 
The Indigenous people informed Pereira about the movement of the invaders in the Javari Valley Indigenous Land. They were usually called by nicknames such as Caboclo, Sirinho, and Guedao. From the previous investigations, the group was able to identify some of the suspect officials, including a secretary of the municipal administration. Unlike 2013, when he investigated the grant cards case, this time Pereira was no longer protected by his coordinating position at Funai. He was more exposed.
 
Under the condition of anonymity, one of Pereira's contributors gave an exclusive interview with Abraji in which he provided details about the actions of those involved in the invasion of the Indigenous Land for poaching and illegal fishing. Pirarucu fish and tracajá turtles are the most valued species in this illicit market. Still, the criminals also collect turtle's eggs and poach medium-sized mammals, such as tapirs and wild boars (called "porcao" by the Indigenous people).

The igarapó where, under gunfire, the boat of Pereira and Phillips lost control.

Head of the group

Amarildo Oliveira, or "Pelado," is said to be the local head of the leading group of invaders of the Indigenous Land. He belongs to a family of riparians living on the banks of the Itacaí River in the towns of Sao Rafael and Sao Gabriel, located about 26 kilometers from the entry point of the Javari Valley. The Valley is a land of 85,000 square kilometers (33,000 square miles), where 26 different ethnic groups live –19 of them isolated. Non-indigenous access to the region is forbidden, as well as any fishing, hunting, logging, or mineral activity.
 
Although he has a house in the village of São Gabriel, Pelado also has another in Benjamin Constant, a neighboring municipality from where flights leave for Tabatinga, on the triple border of Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. On the Peruvian bank of the Javari River, in front of Benjamin Constant,  there is a city called Islandia, where Rubens Villar Coelho, nicknamed "Colombia," lives. Linked to drug trafficking, he allegedly finances illegal fishing and poaching in the region.
 
Pelado, according to the source heard by Abraji, acted as a link in this chain of illegal economy, co-opting fishers in the riparian communities of the two cities for expeditions that can last up to 15 days in the Indigenous Land. Thus, Pelado secured a constant flow of goods to the alleged drug dealer, who sent them to the cities of Leticia in Colombia, and Santa Rosa de Yavari in Peru. In neighboring countries, the pirarucu can be traded for up to R$ 29 (US$ 6) per kilogram. A tracajá turtle is sold for no less than R$ 100 (US$ 20). A dozen eggs from this turtle are sold for up to R$ 30 (US$ 6).      

Fishing and poaching expeditions are made on boats (called voadeiras) capable of transporting up to two tons. The expedition's funder finances the fuel, ice, and salt used to stow dead animals – and even purchases engines for boats. Groups formed by up to six fishers often hide the larger boats in igapós (flooded forests) close to the Indigenous Land. From there, they leave in wooden canoes to avoid inspectors' attention. This was especially noticed in the period when Pereira officially coordinated the work of Funai in the region. 
 
Rigid in law enforcement, Pereira used to impose damage on this illegal economic chain. According to the activist interviewed by Abraji, on average, financing a large expedition can cost from R$ 10,000 (US$ 2,000) to R$ 20,000 (US$ 4,000), guaranteeing a profit four times greater. However, in addition to the seizure of fish and turtles, Pereira also damaged boats and their engines, further increasing the losses of the criminal group and the anger of predators.
 
For the source heard by Abraji, there is no doubt that the murder of Pereira is related to his strict action in facing the illegal activities of the criminal group. He also mentions the execution of Maxciel Pereira dos Santos on September 6, 2019. An ex-employee of Funai, where he also used to work with the Pereira, Santos was killed with two shots on the back of the neck while piloting his motorcycle on Avenida da Amizade. This route connects the Brazilian city of Tabatinga to Colombian Leticia. The murder occurred two weeks after Santos seized a vessel loaded with poaching and fishing goods valued at R$ 100,000 (US$ 20,000). Almost three years later, the crime has not been elucidated yet. 
 
The source tells that Bruno Pereira was providing information to the journalist Dom Phillips about the suspicious relations involving illegal fishers with drug dealers and politicians in the region. Phillips was writing a book about the Javari Valley Indigenous Land.   
 

Police operations in the region of Atalaia do Norte to check for clues about the killings.

 

Crime as a Family Business

The Federal Police's investigations indicate that Pelado articulated in his family the killing of Pereira. As it happens, Pereira had been accompanying the British journalist in a new stage of reporting for the book. Early on June 5, 2022, Bruno would meet at 6 am with Manoel Vitor Sabino da Costa in the village of Sao Rafael. Best known as Churrasco, Costa is the leader of the local fishers and a Pelado's uncle.
 
Pereira tried to get the support of Churrasco to implement the pirarucu management activity in the village of Sao Gabriel, where Pelado's mother and three brothers live. The family has a leadership role among the other dwellers, but it is contrary to the fish management, which allows pirarucu fishing twice a year in the monitored lakes. Pelado did not agree to negotiate with Pereira. 

That morning, when they arrived in San Rafael, Pereira and Phillips did not find Churrasco. He was not in the village. After having breakfast in the house of one of the fishers, they left the village towards Atalaia do Norte, where they would have another meeting. On the way through the Itacoaí River, they passed in front of the house of Pelado's brother, Oseney da Costa Oliveira, known as "dos Santos.". 
 

The house of an uncle of Pelado, which is on the river where Pereira and Phillips crossed and were attacked.
 

The large house, built on stilts, is three kilometers away from Sao Gabriel, the family's stronghold, and just before a stretch where the river has two curves that resemble an "s." Investigators believe the pursuit of the boat used by Pereira and Phillips started at this point. Pelado was on his boat with a more powerful engine than Pereira's.
 
In this passage, the reports of Pelado and fisher Jefferson Lima da Silva coincide. Although they present some contradictions, both admitted to having shot Pereira and Phillips shortly after the first curve. Everything indicates that the pair was literally hunted. The fishers used 16-caliber rifles, one of them with modified ammunition usually employed in the hunt for tapirs, wild boars, and jaguars.
 
In this type of ammunition, lead bullets are melted to form a larger, more consistent shell refilled in the cartridge. So, when fired, there is no fragmentation. Pereira drove the boat and was hit on the back, losing control. At that moment, the boat gave a sharp right turn, entering an area of a flooded forest or an igapó in the local language. Forensics experts believe they were shot in their chests soon after, taken from the boat, and dragged on the sidelines. Pereira was also shot in the right eye.

Saw blades and a chainsaw that would have been used by criminals to try to dismantle the bodies (Photo: Federal Police)

 

From this point on, pieces are still being gathered by the police to clarify the actions of each involved in the deaths, the concealment of Pereira's boat, and the dismantling of the bodies. It is already known that both bodies have been taken in canoes across the river bank, in an area considered the backyard of Oseney or "dos Santos" – the Pelado's brother who denies participation in the crime. From then, the human remnants of Pereira and Phillips were dragged for three and a half kilometers and buried in a ditch.
 
Until July 1, 2022, the Federal Police team coordinated by chief Domingos Sávio will reenact the crime to define each suspect's role in the double murder. It suspects that other relatives of Pelado and Oseney participated in the concealment of the bodies, which would have been handled as hunting.
 
On June 24, 2022, federal police officers were in the towns of Sao Gabriel and Sao Rafael, where they searched the houses of Churrasco, his mother, and three other brothers. Supported by a search and seizure warrant, they seized four saws, two machetes, and a chainsaw, in addition to two canoes and a rope in which evidence of blood was detected through luminol.       
 
The boats were taken to a shed in Atalaia do Norte, where the experts have worked on collecting digital and epithelial tissue. The investigators were surprised by the discovery of evidence that places the matriarch of the riparian clan on the scene of the crime, which would have been premeditated. The evidence was sent to the analysis laboratory of the federal police in Brasilia.

 
Children play around with an image of St. Sebastian, the martired Saint and patron saint of Atalaia do Norte.

 

Indigenous CSI 

The technical work of the federal police was added to the active participation of the Indigenous peoples of the Javari Valley Indigenous Land in the searches for the bodies of Pereira and Phillips. Before the arrival of the police, Univaja representatives warned about the duo's disappearance. It was shortly after 9 am on Sunday, June 5, 2022. It is worth noting that the time zone in Atalaia do Norte is two hours earlier than BST (Brasilia standard time). Soon afterward, they learned that several members of the Pelado family had gone to Oseney's house that morning.
 
From this early point of the investigation, the name of Amarildo (or Pelado) was figured as the primary suspect due to past threats to Pereira. Members of the Matis ethnic group located the point where the murderers removed soil in a section of the forest to fill bags and sink the boat used by the victims. Officers delimited the search area from the discovery, which fisher Jefferson da Silva later confirmed. The Indigenous people also discovered the backpack with Dom Phillip's clothing in the igapó. There was no laptop in the bag, but the clothes were from the journalist.
 
The Univaja indigenous people – Pereira's allies in the investigation sought to gather evidence of the connections of Pelado with a drug dealer nicknamed Colombia and officials of Atalaia do Norte – fear facing the same fate as the killed pair as soon as the police finish their investigations. On June 25, 2022, only three journalists remained in the region.
 
The Abraji team sent messages via WhatsApp to the phone used by mayor Denis de Paiva and to the office e-mail to hear his version about the suspicion raised in Pereira's investigation but did not get a reply. According to his office, Paiva spent the last week in Manaus, trying to get resources for the municipality. In the city, however, the word is that he would have gone to the Parintins Festival, a very popular carnival parade in the forest. 
 
Tim Lopes Program

Coordinated by the journalist and former President of Abraji Angelina Nunes, the Tim Lopes Program included the death of the British Dom Phillips on the list of murders of journalists and communicators followed by Abraji and program partners. The program is funded by the Open Society Foundations. The program takes the name of Tim Lopes, the reporter of Globo TV murdered by drug dealers in Morro do Alemao, Rio de Janeiro, 20 years ago. Since the program was created in 2017, this is the 5th case of a homicide of a professional received by the project.
 
The first case deals with the radio host Jefferson Pureya, 40 years old, who was killed on the night of January 17, 2018, with three shots on the face when he rested on the balcony of his house. The crime occurred in Edealina, in the state of Goiás. According to the testimony in the investigation, the murder was negotiated for R$ 5,000 plus a revolver caliber 38. Six accused were arrested. The three teenagers involved in the crime complied with socio-educational measures and were released months later. The owner of the car wash outlet where the crime was negotiated was sentenced to 14 years in prison. However, the councilor - appointed as the one who hired the contract killers - and his janitor – who introduced the killers to the councilor – were acquitted. The prosecution requested a retrial.
 
The death of the 43-year-old radio host Jairo de Souza, murdered as he climbed the stairway that gives access to the radio station FM Radio Perola on June 21, 2018, is the second case followed by the program. The crime occurred in Braganca, in the state of Pará. Souza was arriving at the station to host his 5 to 9 am morning show. He was killed with two shots after passing through a gate and climbing a few steps from the staircase. According to the police investigation, the execution order came from an extermination group of ten men and cost R$ 30,000. A councilor has been accused of hiring the killers, but no trial has yet occurred. They have been indicted and, after several appeals, are awaiting trial out of prison.
 
The third case is that of the 52-year-old journalist Lourenco (Léo) Veras, who was murdered on the night of February 12, 2020, with 12 shots, while having dinner with his family in the Paraguayan municipality of Pedro Juan Caballero, which borders on the city of Ponta Pora, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Veras reported the drug-trafficking dispute in the region and had already received death threats. The crime is still under investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Paraguayan police. The prosecutor has denounced a suspect to justice, but no trial has taken place.
 
The death of the 46-year-old blogger Givanildo Oliveira on the night of February 7, 2022, in Fortaleza is the fourth case of the program. The investigations showed that his death was motivated by the publication of a note, in his portal Pirambu News, about a police operation that resulted in the arrest of a Comando Vermelho, a large organized criminal group. The gang was active in the area of Areia Grossa. Investigations are still ongoing. 

You can read this article in portuguese here.
 
*Special Envoys of the Tim Lopes Program to Atalaia do Norte (AM).