Developments this week saw police find traces of blood on a boat belonging to Amarildo da Costa resident, who is considered the prime suspect in the couple’s disappearance. A Brazilian judge has ordered the suspect da Costa, who this week was charged with illegal possession of restricted ammunition, to be detained for another 30 days, while police are investigating his involvement in the case. Police search the Itaquai River during the hunt for British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira.AP As the search for the two missing intensified, Brazilian officials deployed more than 150 soldiers in camouflaged trucks to the town of Atalaia do Norte to interview locals. By Friday, officials had deployed troops on riverboats to inspect nearby waters. Costa’s lawyers and family said he was fishing in the river legally and said he was innocent to police. Police say he was one of the last people to see the two missing and is suspected of engaging in illegal fishing for a shopper in Peru. Da Costa’s family members claimed that the police tortured him to try to force him to confess. The colleague of fisherman Osenei da Costa de Oliveira, 41, said on Friday that his brother was arrested at home before being taken to prison. “Then they put him in a boat under the sun and started traveling to Atalaia do Norte,” said da Costa de Oliveira. “When they reached the Curupira River, they put him in another boat. Then they beat him, tortured him, put his head under the water, trampled his leg and put pepper on his face. “They also drugged him twice, but I do not know what they used.” “They wanted him to confess, but he is innocent,” he added. Brazilian officials deploy members of research team on riverboats to inspect nearby waters.AP The suspect’s mother, Maria de Fátima da Costa, recalled seeing her son in handcuffs arriving at a nearby port with police, saying he could barely walk alone and was soaked. “I told the police he was not a criminal to be treated like that,” he said. Declaring her son innocent, the suspect’s mother said traces of blood police found on his boat may have belonged to a pig he slaughtered a few days before his arrest. More than 150 soldiers were deployed in camouflaged trucks in the town of Atalaia do Norte to interview locals.AP The bloodstains are now being analyzed by experts in the laboratory. In a desperate attempt to acquit Da Costa, his family refuted the allegation that he was armed and fired a shot at Phillips and Pereira. The suspect’s father-in-law, Francisco Conceição de Freitas, said da Costa – also known as “Pelado” in his community – waved a paddle, not a rifle, at the two men just a day before they disappeared because he felt “threatened”. ” from them. The soldiers had been searching for Phillips and Pereira for five days after disappearing as they passed through an illegal area by boat.AP De Freitas claimed that the guards were armed, adding that da Costa wanted to make it appear that he was also carrying weapons. The family said Da Costa did not have a criminal record and his only previous approach to the law was because he was detained for several hours after police falsely suspected he was transporting drugs. On Thursday, officials said a medical examiner and state police were checking for “possible genetic material” on the boat that contained blood to determine if it belonged to a human or animal. Indigenous people took part in the search for the missing in an area known for violent clashes between fishermen, poachers and government officials. Police are investigating six other people in connection with the disappearances of Phillips and Pereira. Pereira – who recently received threats to fight illegal fishing – and Phillips were on a reference trip to the Javari Valley, a remote jungle near the Peruvian and Colombian borders, when they disappeared. The area is often seen by illegal hunters and fishermen, according to police. Navy sailors search for Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira on a speedboat in the Javari Valley region of Brazil on June 9, 2022. AP Phillips has also contributed to the Washington Post and the New York Times. He currently resides in Salvador, a city in the Brazilian state of Bahia, with his wife, Alessandra Sampaio. Actor Mark Raffaello, football legend Pelé and US President Joe Biden are among the high-profile names urging the Brazilian government to step up efforts to find the men. A volunteer diver assists Navy men in search of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira in the Javari Valley Indigenous area on June 9, 2022.AP With Post cables
