Police arrest leader of 'Los Pulpos' gang in La Paz, wanted for contract killing and kidnapping
The National Police detained Jhonsson Smit Cruz Torres in Bolivia, leader of the criminal gang 'Los Pulpos', under international arrest warrant for homicide and kidnapping.
Jhonsson Pulpo arrested in La Paz following joint operation between Peru and Bolivia
The National Police of Peru announced the detention in Bolivia of the leader of the criminal organisation 'Los Pulpos', identified as Jhonsson Smit Cruz Torres, alias 'Jhonsson Pulpo'. According to rpp.pe, the arrest was carried out at 9:45 a.m. in the city of La Paz, as part of a coordinated action between the National Police of Peru and the Cybercrime Division of the National Police of Bolivia.
Cruz Torres was subject to an international arrest warrant for offences including aggravated robbery with resulting death, qualified homicide, contract killing, criminal organisation, and aggravated kidnapping. He was also sought by the Third Collegiate Criminal Court of Supraprovincial Jurisdiction of the Superior Court of Justice of La Libertad.
Gabriel Alexander Saúl Mendocilla Gómez was also detained in the same operation. In the possession of both men were Peruvian passports belonging to two individuals, a Peruvian national identity document and two Bolivian identity cards.
According to the National Police organisational structure, 'Jhonsson Pulpo' headed the group of five detainees linked to the kidnapping of mining entrepreneur Jens Lara Tantaquilla, an incident which resulted in four deaths in Trujillo. The other alleged gang members were identified as Frank Junior Quezada Cruz, alias 'Ñato'; Julio Zavaleta Quezada, alias 'Juliacho', 19 years old; César Iván García Rivera, 20 years old, alias 'Bolacho', who drove the vehicle transporting the attackers; Ángel Fabricio Bocanegra Linares, 19 years old, alias 'Folo'; and José Miguel Cherrepe Dávila.
Regarding the outcome of the kidnapping, Interior Minister César Astudillo clarified that no police unit intervened in the release of the entrepreneur. "It was not a hostage rescue, but a release," he stated in an interview with RPP.
Source: Google News BO — Crime