The murder of Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the Brazilian Amazon has been solved.

According to the Brazilian Federal Police, Rubén Dario da Silva Villar, known as "Colômbia", ordered the killing.

The well-known criminal, who is also being investigated for illegal fishing and drug trafficking, has been in custody since December after being released on bail.

Tjerk Bruhwiller

Correspondent for Latin America based in São Paulo.

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According to the investigation, "Colômbia" had direct contact with Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, who is in prison and confessed to having been involved in the deaths of Bruno and Dom.

It procured the ammunition for the perpetrators and paid Costa Oliveira a lawyer after the crime.

Two others involved, including a brother of Costa Oliveira, are also in custody.

All three were charged with murder.

A murder charge will be filed against "Colômbia" in the coming days, the prosecutor's office confirmed.

Another brother of Costa Oliveira is under investigation.

He is suspected of having obtained the murder weapon.

The hearings in the trial, which were due to begin in the next few days, have been adjourned to March due to technical problems.

A spectacular case

Pereira and Phillips went missing during an expedition to a remote Amazon region in June last year.

On the day of their disappearance, they wanted to take a boat to the nearest town, Atalaia do Norte.

The 72-kilometer journey was supposed to take two hours, but the two never reached their destination.

After a ten-day search, her remains were found on June 15.

According to investigators' information, the victims were shot and the bodies dismembered, burned and buried.

Police found the remains of the two after Costa Oliveira admitted his involvement in the crime and led investigators to where the bodies were located.

The case had attracted international attention.

Pereira, who used to work for the Brazilian Indigenous Authority, had maintained close contact with the indigenous peoples in the vast Vale do Javari region on the border with Peru.

Among other things, he was responsible for organizing the indigenous guard units that protect the protected area from intruders such as illegal fishermen, hunters and loggers.

Pereira was a thorn in the side of these criminals.

Phillips, a respected journalist with many years of experience in Brazil, accompanied Pereira on research for a book.