Brazil detains alleged deforestation king of Amazon
Source: AP-Excite
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil has detained a land-grabber thought to be the Amazon's single biggest deforester, the country's environmental protection agency said.
The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources said Ezequiel Antonio Castanha, who was detained Saturday in the state of Para, operated a network that illegally seized federal lands, clear-cut them and sold them to cattle grazers.
The agency blames the network for 20 percent of the deforestation in Brazil's Amazon in recent years, though the statement issued Monday did not provide the estimated scale of the devastation.
It quoted the agency's head of environmental protection, Luciano Evaristo, as saying he hopes Castanha's arrest will "contribute significantly to controlling deforestation in the region."
FULL story at link.
In this Feb. 22, 2015 photo released by Jornal Folha Do Progresso, Ezequiel Antonio Castanha is escorted in handscuffs by a federal police officer in Novo Progresso, Brazil. The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources said Castanha, who was detained Saturday in the state of Para, operated a network that illegally seized federal lands, clear-cut them and sold them to cattle grazers. (AP Photo/Jornal Folha do Progresso, Juliano Simionato)
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150224/lt-brazil-amazon-deforestation-d36d33beac.html
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