An illegal fishing trafficker ordered the assassination of an Indigenous tribes expert, Brazilian authorities revealed on Monday following months of investigation and arrests.

Dom Phillips, 57, a veteran freelance writer, and Bruno Pereira, 41, a known Indigenous specialist, went missing on June 5 while sailing in Brazil's Javari Valley, bordering Peru, when Phillips was investigating a book. The murders made waves, bringing the Amazon conflicts back to the forefront on the international stage. 

According to Brazilian authorities, Phillips and Pereira were assassinated on orders from a Colombian man called Rubén Dario da Silva Villar, because Pereira assisted Indigenous communities in their fight against illegal fishing and hunting, which threatened Villar's business.

Phillips happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and was murdered because he was in the company of Amazon defender Pereira at the time of the assassination.

At least four men have been detained in connection with the assassination of Pereira and Phillips, the last of which has been Villar who was accused of ordering the killings, for which he is set to be indicted, and thus bringing the investigation to an end.

The three additional individuals have been accused by the federal police of either executing the murders or assisting in hiding their remains. 

However, the police continue the search for a final individual suspected of having supplied the killers with the weapon, and subsequently played a role in hiding the corpses.

These conclusions remain lacking as the main points of address for Indigenous groups, remain unanswered.

Eliesio Marubo, a lawyer with Univaja, an Indigenous association that worked with the assassinated Amazon defender, argued, “Who is financing these people so they can continue their illegal activities?” adding that “the federal police didn’t answer that. We need a deeper investigation.” 

Amazon fisherman confesses to killing missing pair

A federal police investigator stated at a press conference in the Amazon city of Manaus earlier in June that the lead suspect confessed and explained what happened to Phillips and Pereira. According to investigator Eduardo Alexandre Fontes, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, called Pelado, informed authorities he killed the men with a gun.

Pelado led authorities to the spot where police recovered the remains. Torres noted that "we would have no way of getting to that spot quickly without the confession."

Torres said the remains would be given to the proper families. Pelado's family had said that he claimed police tortured him to get a confession. 

Pereira, and Phillips, were last seen on their boat on a river at the entrance of Peru's and Colombia's Javari Valley Indigenous Territory. There have been violent clashes between fishermen, poachers, and government authorities in that region.

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