Tumbes: 4 police officers arrested on charges of extortion

The Comptroller’s Office found that the National Police of Metropolitan Lima has the highest level of corruption risk of all the entities of the government of Dina Boluarte | Photo composition: Infobae Peru / Andina Agency

On the night of Friday, July 19, the Criminal Investigation Division (Divincri) of Tumbes arrested four police officers accused of extortion. A police officer, identified as Manuel Gregorio Gálvez García, showed the police authorities a video that proved how his colleagues charged him a bribe in exchange for releasing him, despite the fact that they were carrying an unlicensed pistol.

With this evidence, personnel from the Divincri of Tumbes arrested third-class non-commissioned officers Juan Acosta Sánchez and Bryan Mendoza Huancayo, when they were in police vehicle PL 21134, on the Panamericana Norte. They did not resist. They also detained non-commissioned officer Brigadier Mario Noriega Dioses and non-commissioned officer Javier Herrera Urbina, at the San Isidro police station. They are in the custody of the Public Ministry.

Gálvez García identified these officers as those responsible for extorting him. He said they demanded 500 soles to allow him to continue on his way, given that he was carrying a weapon without having a virtual license at the time.

The complainant made the deposit through Yape, in the name of Lourdes Thais Vásquez Miranda, at the request of the now detained officers.

It should be noted that the Public Prosecutor’s Office placed the detainees at the disposal of the Decentralized Anti-Corruption Department of Tumbes.

This followingnoon, the Ministry of the Interior confirmed through social media that, within the framework of a zero corruption policy, the four officers were arrested in Tumbes and charged with the alleged crime of extortion once morest Manuel Gregorio Gálvez García.

In Tumbes, agents of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), in charge of surveillance on the border with Ecuador, intercepted an interprovincial bus that was transporting 15 Venezuelan citizens bound for Lima. According to the authorities, these people had entered the country illegally.

Border Police said the Venezuelans had entered Peru through clandestine crossing points, avoiding police control, despite the new measure implemented by the National Immigration Superintendency since July 2.

15 Venezuelans arrested on border with Ecuador for illegal entry into Peru | Video: 24 Horas

General Javier González Novoa, head of the Tumbes Police Front, told the 24 Horas news program that they were aware that some transportation agencies were offering trips to Lima to Venezuelan citizens.

The foreign passengers told authorities that the person who sold them the tickets, for 120 soles each, had promised them that they would have no problems entering the Peruvian capital.

According to the first police report, these Venezuelan citizens arrived in Peru on July 3, evading police operations at several clandestine crossings, and did not have the necessary documentation to prove their legal stay in the country.

The Venezuelan citizens were transferred to State Security to follow the corresponding protocols and proceed with their expulsion from the country. Meanwhile, the ticket seller was placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and will be investigated for facilitating the transit of illegal migrants.

It should be noted that, since the Immigration resolution came into effect, PNP agents have been intervening with all foreigners from Venezuela who do not have the documentation required for legal entry.

Recently, in the area of ​​the Desembarcadero Pesquero Artesanal (DPA) Acapulco, in the district of Zorritos, a vehicle was stopped with 35 foreigners, of which 18 were in an irregular immigration situation and were trying to reach Lima.

Since July 2, Peru has required Venezuelans wishing to enter the country to present a visa and passport, following changes to immigration control measures.