Alleged ‘mastermind’ behind Amazon murder of Lancaster journalist Dom Phillips is named

Rubens Villar Coelho was first arrested on separate charges last July – a month after the two men were murdered in the Javari valley region of the Amazon.

He was released in October but was rearrested last month for breaking his bail terms.

The Guardian has reported that on Monday afternoon, the federal police chief for Amazonas state, where the Javari valley is located, told reporters that investigators had concluded Villar Coelho – who has been accused of running an illegal fishing racket in the remote border region – had ordered the murders.

“I have no doubt that Colômbia was the mastermind,” Alexandre Fontes said at a press conference, according to the Brazilian news website G1.

Three other men are currently in custody for the murders and stand accused of shooting Phillips and Pereira as they travelled down the Itaquaí River on the morning of June 5 2022.

They are Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, Jefferson da Silva Lima and Oseney da Costa de Oliveira.

Fontes said investigators had gathered evidence that Villar Coelho provided the first two of those men with the ammunition that was used to commit the murder.

Fontes claimed the ​16-gauge shotgun used in the crime was provided by Amarildo da Costa Oliveira’s brother, Edvaldo da Costa Oliveira, “in the knowledge that it would be used to murder Bruno and Dom”.

Villar Coelho had also paid for Amarildo da Costa Oliveira’s initial defense lawyer, Fontes added.

Villar Coelho denied involvement in the crime after being detained last July.

Foreign correspondent Dom Phillips, 57, had travelled to the Javari valley with Bruno Pereira as part of research for a book he was writing called How to Save the Amazon.

After Dom's death, an exhibition was held at Halton Mill opened by his sister, Lancaster musician Sian Phillips, as part of a month of activities taking place in and around Lancaster, commemorating the murdered pair.

The exhibition is now on a national tour, including stops at the National Union of Journalists’ head office in London, Preston Climate Emergency Centre, and Lancaster University Environment Centre. It will also be on display at St Wilfrid’s Primary School, Halton, during February.