The mysterious oil slicks stretching over 1,500 kilometers along Brazil's northeast coast might have a criminal origin, according to the country's President Jair Bolsonaro.

"If it was a shipwreck, oil would still be coming up. It is more probable that something was dumped there criminally," Reuters reported quoting Bolsonaro.

He added that crude oil "does not seem to come from an offshore platform."

With this declaration, the president backtracked on comments he made on Monday, which indicated that the oil might originate from a shipwrecked vessel.

On the same day, he expressed suspicion that the environmental problem could have originated from elsewhere.

"It's complex. There is a possibility, we have on our radar a country that might be the origin of the oil and we continue to work in the best way possible to give a justification to the society and to collaborate in this environmental issue," said Bolsonaro after leaving a meeting at the Defense Ministry to discuss the problem, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

Bolsonaro stopped short of naming the country and a Tuesday statement by the president reiterated that Bolsonaro did not want to accuse another country without proof.

A study conducted by state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) said molecular tests from samples of the crude oil showed they were not compatible with the company's products.

Reuters quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that the oil came from Venezuela, noting that its volume pointed to a sunken oil tanker and that it appears to have been an accidental spill. Folha de Sao Paulo sources pointed to the same country. Petrobras, however, didn't disclose whether the oil slicks were indeed from Venezuela.

A September report by the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) stated the oil is not of Brazilian origin.

Federal police, navy called to investigate

The oil slicks began to show up on the beaches of Brazil's northeast coast on September 2 and then in the state of Bahia on October 3. The discovery led President Bolsonaro to launch an official investigation to determine the causes of the spill and who is behind it. The probe involves the federal police, the Navy Command, which operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Environment.

The navy informed on Tuesday that five ships and one plane are patrolling the affected region trying to find the cause of the spill. In total, 1,583 soldiers and a number of boats and vehicles from the state ports are also involved.

The navy said in a press release that the spill was "unprecedented." As part of its inquiry, it is going over data from maritime traffic and navy ships, information from airplane patrols, sea currents simulations, and chemical analysis of the collected residue.

The federal police are in charge of the criminal aspect of the probe, while Ibama was tasked with the cleaning process.

The extension of the contaminated area and the circumstances of the spill have intrigued the authorities and the appearance of additional slicks after one month makes it even more peculiar.

More than 100 tons cleaned

Official data from the Ministry of the Environment indicates that 132 locations in 61 municipalities in nine states have been affected. 

On Monday, Brazilian Environment Minister Ricardo Salles flew over the coastal area of Sergipe to evaluate the impact of the oil slicks and landed on Viral Beach, where cleaning was underway.

In the entire northeast coast, more than 100 tons of oil have been collected, the ministry, adding that Ibama is deploying a helicopter, an airplane with radar systems, and high-resolution cameras to sweep the coastlines.

Petrobras has been helping with the cleaning, and according to its Chief Executive Roberto Castello Branco, the company collected 133 tons of oil using over 500 barrels.

"It's a weird phenomenon and there are no signs that it will recede," said Branco, according to Brazilian news website Poder 360.

Several beaches were closed to the public to protect people's health and expedite cleaning.

The oil has killed several turtles and poses danger to 600 turtle eggs waiting to hatch along the contaminated area, Project Tamar, a non-governmental organization that works to protect the species in the country, told Reuters.

See the video: Oil spill blights Brazil's golden beaches