Brazil police say gang leader likely ordered killing of British journalist, Amazon expert

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold a banner with the images of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous affairs specialist Bruno Pereira, both killed in the Amazon, during a protest in the Arcos da Lapa (Lapa Arches) in Rio de Janeiro Brazil 26, 2022. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo

(Reuters) - Brazil's federal police said on Monday they had a "strong conviction" a gang leader known as "Colombia" ordered the brutal murders of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, killed in the Amazon rainforest last June.

The gang leader, Ruben Dario da Silva Villar, is already in police detention after being charged along with three other people for double homicide and concealment of corpses.