The Federal Police (PF) of Brazil reported Monday that Rubens Villar Coelho, alias ‘Colombia’, ordered the murder of British journalist Bruno Pereira, and Brazilian indigenist Dom Philips, who disappeared in the indigenous region of the Yavari Valley, in the Brazilian Amazon.
Former PF commissioner Eduardo Fontes, who was in charge during most of the investigations, has explained that the case is 90 percent complete, noting that there are «strong indications» that Colombia ordered the crimes.
«We never ruled out any line of investigation and all strategies proved successful. I have no doubt, we have a mastermind. Strong evidence points to Colombia as the mastermind,» said Fontes, as reported by the newspaper ‘Folha de Sao Paulo’.
Colombia’ was arrested on July 8 for being the alleged head of a drug money laundering scheme through illegal fishing in the Yavari Valley, home not only to the largest concentration of uncontacted indigenous peoples, but also one of the major routes through which cocaine arrives from Peru to be distributed to Europe after passing through Brazil.
The accused has at all times denied involvement «in any way» in the murders of Phillips and Pereira, who had recently made a series of seizures of various species of fish and even turtle, very valuable in the market, which were used in this money laundering scheme, reported ‘O Globo’.
These actions by Pereira would have put the interests of ‘Colombia’ in check, who would have ordered the murder of other suspects: Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, alias ‘Pelado’, his brother Oseney de Oliveira, ‘Dos Santos’, and Jefferson da Silva Lima, ‘Pelado da Dinha,’ who would have been the executors.
A fourth person, Edvaldo da Costa Oliveira, has been charged on suspicion of involvement in the double homicide, as he was allegedly responsible for delivering the murder weapon, according to the PF.
Among the evidence against ‘Colombia’ is the supply of ammunition, the provision of a boat for illegal fishing, the payment to a lawyer for the defense of one of the accused and the links between them before and after the crime.
However, the final indictment report against Villar has not been made public. «As we prioritize the quality of the evidence, telematic analysis will continue to be carried out, based ?…on breaks in secrecy. This will only strengthen the evidence of this intellectual authorship,» Fontes explained.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
