Ringleader of pirate gang that killed British adventurer shot dead in gun battle

One of the men suspected of murdering British canoeist Emma Kelty in the Amazon jungle last week has been shot dead.

Brazilian police said that 24-year-old Evanilson Gomes da Costa, known as “Baia”, was shot twice in the early hours of Wednesday morning at his home in the remote town of Coari and then died in hospital.

They believe that a member of another gang of pirates went after da Costa to steal the valuables he had robbed from Miss Kelty, including mobile telephones, a tablet, a GoPro camera and a drone.

Police said that before dying in hospital da Costa identified the man who shot him. They are currently trying to locate the suspect, who is already known to local police.

Police believe that da Costa was the leader of the local gang of pirates responsible for killing Miss Kelty.

A police spokeswoman said: “After killing Emma and stealing her money and possessions, the suspects celebrated and drew a lot of attention to themselves. Other criminals came looking for them.”

A 17-year-old boy has allegedly confessed in custody that on the night of Wednesday 13 September, members of da Costa’s gang shot Miss Kelty twice with a sawn-off shotgun and then dumped her body in the river.

Two other members of the gang have also been arrested. The police are hunting for three other men linked with the attack and are trying to track down the stolen goods.

The Brazilian Navy and rescue services are continuing to search for Miss Kelty’s body.

The search for Miss Kelty was launched after she triggered a distress signal at about the same time as the attack is believed to have occurred. Her kayak was discovered on a lawless stretch of beach along with some of her belongings.

Three days before she was last heard from, Miss Kelty wrote on Facebook on September 10: “So in or near coari (100km away) i will have my boat stolen and i will be killed too. Nice.”