Authorities in the Brazilian Amazon have arrested a man connected with the abduction of a British journalist and an Indigenous advocate. This case has shocked the media and environmental communities.

Police in the extreme west of Brazil announced that they had apprehended four witnesses and one suspect in the abduction of longstanding Guardian writer Dom Phillips and Indigenous rights champion Bruno Arajo Pereira.

The officer in the case identified the culprit as Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira without elaborating on his arraignment.

On Saturday morning, Da Costa, also known as Pelado, allegedly threatened Phillips, Pereira, and a group of thirteen Indigenous people.

A witness to the confrontation told the Guardian that Da Costa and two other armed men threatened the group while the Itaqua river in Amazonas state halted them.

Police eventually confiscated Da Costa's vessel.

Pereira, a 41-year-old longstanding advocate for Indigenous communities in a large and remote rainforest region, received death threats for protecting Indigenous groups from drug traffickers and illegal miners, loggers, and hunters who covet property in an area rich in natural resources.

He and Phillips were last spotted traveling by boat through the Javari district of Amazonas state on Sunday morning. They returned on a two-day reporting trip but did not arrive in Atalaia do Norte as expected.

Phillips, age 57, was conducting research for a book on the region's sustainable development. The Alicia Patterson Foundation awarded him a fellowship to write the book, which he planned to complete by the end of the year.

Tuesday, his wife issued a frantic appeal for authorities to expedite their search, and as the case gained news in Brazil, athletes and artists joined her cause.

Richarlison retweeted Phillips's wife's tearful video. At the same time, Walter Casagrande, a former Brazilian player who is now a well-known sports presenter, made his appeal, as did singer Gaby Amarantos and Sonia Guajajara, who Time magazine recently named one of the most influential people of 2022.

John Kerry, the US climate envoy, stated that he would investigate the case.

David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, encouraged Brazilian authorities to "do all they can to find them as soon as possible" and urged the Foreign Office to utilize all diplomatic channels available.

The lack of haste displayed by Brazilian authorities, particularly the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, has sparked tremendous outrage.

The search has been plagued by delays and inconsistent comments from military personnel in charge of the region in Brazil.

The army stated that mobilization was pending instructions in the first twenty-four hours after their abduction was reported.

The navy subsequently said it would dispatch a helicopter and two boats, followed by the army's announcement that it would engage jungle specialists in its search.

Bolsonaro showed no empathy in his initial remarks on Monday, describing their travel as "not recommended."

"Everything is possible," he said. "It may be an accident, or they may have been executed. We pray that they be located quickly. The military is exerting great effort in the region."