Officials from the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Peruvian Police captured eight alleged members of the dangerous Tren de Aragua gang, which engaged in extorting sex workers. The subjects, who were carrying two firearms, ammunition and a grenade, were found in a hotel in the El Agustino district, in Lima.
General Carlos Céspedes reported that Two women are among those arrested.. Local media They pointed out that one of the criminals jumped from the third floor when they realized that the Police were near the place and that the authorities presume that they are involved in other crimes.
“Eight members of a criminal gang have been captured, who would even have contacts, and we have indicators that they would have belonged to this criminal organization already known as the Tren de Aragua,” the officer informed the press.
He explained that in the area where the arrests occurred, near Puente Nuevo, women circulate who are dedicated to prostitution and subjected them to extortion quotas.
“The person who was in charge of receiving those extortion quotas it was a woman who worked in this hotel as a receptionist and this, in turn, gave these men part of the extortion quota left by each of them,” Céspedes reported.
The criminal organization, due to the crisis in Venezuela, has expanded throughout the region for some years: in addition to Peru, crimes allegedly committed by criminals from the Aragua Train have been reported in Chile and in Brazil. There are also reports that they control illegal steps on the border with Colombia.