Bolivia extradites Jhonsson Pulpo, leader of criminal gang Los Pulpos, to Peru
Bolivia captured and extradited to Peru Jhonsson Cruz Torres, head of the gang Los Pulpos, sentenced to life imprisonment. To evade capture, he faked his death in 2020 and underwent cosmetic surgery.
Leader of Los Pulpos captured in La Paz, Peruvian criminal gang with life sentence conviction
Bolivia's police force handed over Jhonsson Cruz Torres, alias Jhonsson Pulpo, principal leader of the Peruvian criminal organisation Los Pulpos, to Peru on Tuesday, just hours after his capture in La Paz, according to a report from the Peruvian Government. El Deber reported that the handover took place in Desaguadero, a border town on the shores of Lake Titicaca and the main land crossing between the two countries.
Cruz Torres, 29 years old, was subject to an international arrest warrant backed by a life sentence. The crimes that led to that sentence include a robbery during which a merchant was killed, as well as multiple kidnappings and murders committed in Trujillo, a city on Peru's northern coast located approximately 570 kilometres from Lima.
A multi-year search and multiple false identities
The capture was the result of joint intelligence work between Bolivia's and Peru's police forces, with the participation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), both US agencies with offices in Lima.
The search lasted several years. In an initial phase it was suspected that Cruz Torres had settled in Chile alongside members of his family clan. Subsequently, the investigation concentrated on Bolivia, where at the start of this year Keysi Salvatierra, the fugitive's partner and also subject to an international arrest warrant for a kidnapping, was detained.
To elude investigators, Cruz Torres faked his own death in 2020, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic. According to El Deber, he also reportedly underwent several cosmetic surgeries to alter his appearance and used multiple false identities throughout his flight.
Along with Jhonsson Pulpo, a second suspected member of the organisation was detained, identified as Gabriel Alexander Saúl M.G., 23 years old, who allegedly accompanied and assisted him.
Third generation of a clan with roots in Trujillo
At 29 years old, Jhonsson Cruz Torres represents the third generation of a criminal clan whose operations centre is Trujillo. His father, Jhon Cruz Arce, known as Jhon Pulpo, served a twenty-five-year sentence in the high-security prison at Challapalca, located 4,850 metres above sea level, and was released last year. Peruvian authorities have not yet confirmed which prison the son will be held in, although it is considered likely that he will be transferred to that same high-security facility. Peru's Interior Ministry stated that the detainee will first be taken to Lima for the corresponding proceedings.
Under Jhonsson Pulpo's leadership, Los Pulpos expanded their activities beyond Trujillo. The gang is attributed with one of the most violent episodes of organised crime in Peru during the present year: mining entrepreneur Jenss Lara, 31 years old, was kidnapped in the early hours of a Sunday in Trujillo, whilst the four companions who were travelling with him in the same vehicle were murdered. The kidnappers simulated an operation by a Peruvian police unit against organised crime. Lara was freed the following day; authorities did not confirm whether the family paid part of the ransom, although that version circulated publicly.
Source: El Deber