Twelve arrested in Peru for migrant trafficking and falsification of migration records
A simultaneous operation across five regions arrested 12 officials and police officers investigated for facilitating irregular departures of minors and manipulating the migration system.
Operation in five regions yields 12 arrests in migrant trafficking network
A simultaneous operation carried out on Tuesday 27 October at 1:45 a.m. resulted in the preliminary detention of 12 people in Lima, Callao, Tumbes, Puno and Lambayeque, infobae.com reported. The detainees are officials and former officials of the National Superintendence of Migration, as well as members of the National Police of Peru, under investigation for allegedly facilitating irregular departures of minors and manipulating records in the migration system.
The Public Ministry, in coordination with the International Organised Crime Investigation Department of the National Police, directed the proceedings based on a report submitted by the Migration authority itself. Provincial prosecutor Israel Luna Ramírez, from the Second Office of the Twelfth Provincial Criminal Corporate Prosecution, led the intervention, with support from the Specialised Provincial Prosecution Against Organised Crime.
Payments of between 200 and 300 dollars at Jorge Chávez airport
The charges include aggravated illicit migrant trafficking, assault on the integrity of computer data, generic falsity and criminal association. According to the Prosecution, the irregular operations allegedly took place mainly at Jorge Chávez International Airport, where those under investigation allegedly received payments of between 200 and 300 dollars per person to permit the departure from the country of minors without the corresponding authorisations.
The alleged irregularities in migration control procedures allegedly occurred between 2022 and 2025, according to information released by the Public Ministry. It was the National Superintendence of Migration that detected the facts and reported them to the Prosecution for corresponding legal action.
False migration movement records
Another axis of the investigation is the alleged insertion of false information in the Migration Information Register (RIM). Those under investigation allegedly entered migration movements of foreign nationals without those persons being physically present at the control posts, according to the Prosecution.
This data manipulation supports the charges for assault on the integrity of computer data and generic falsity, which are added to the offences of aggravated illicit migrant trafficking and criminal association attributed in prejudice of the Peruvian state.
Raids and seized material
As part of the proceedings, prosecution teams conducted raids, forced entries and home searches at the various points of the operation. The authorities seized laptops, mobile telephones and allegedly falsified documents, material that will be submitted for analysis to determine its connection with the investigated operations.
Investigations continue aimed at clarifying the role that each of the 12 detainees allegedly played and determining whether there was coordinated action among the alleged participants. The Public Ministry indicated that these actions form part of its efforts to combat organised crime and offences that affect the migration system and the security of computer systems.
Source: Google News PE — Crime