Peru: Drug lord arrested, faces extradition to the United States
LIMA — Peruvian police, with support from U.S. authorities, have arrested a major drug trafficker accused of running an extensive international cocaine network operating between Peru, the United States, and Europe, officials announced Tuesday.
The suspect, Brucelee Bermudo, 42, was detained in the small jungle town of Chiriaco, in northeastern Peru, during a joint international surveillance operation. He has since been transferred to Lima, where he is being held under an arrest warrant pending extradition to the United States.
According to a statement from Peru’s anti-drug directorate (Dirandro), Bermudo “led a criminal organization that exported large quantities of cocaine hydrochloride to Europe and the United States.”
Authorities said the network involved Mexican, Venezuelan, and Guatemalan nationals and operated primarily from the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro River Valley (VRAEM) — a remote region known as one of Peru’s main coca-producing zones.
Peru remains the second-largest producer of cocaine in the world, after Colombia, according to official estimates.
The arrest comes amid heightened security operations after President Jose Jeri declared a 30-day state of emergency in Lima and the neighboring province of Callao to tackle rising crime rates.
-
11:50
-
11:45
-
11:30
-
11:20
-
11:00
-
10:50
-
10:30
-
10:20
-
10:00
-
10:00
-
09:50
-
09:30
-
09:20
-
09:00
-
08:50
-
08:30
-
08:20
-
08:00
-
07:50
-
07:40
-
07:20
-
07:00
-
17:20
-
16:50
-
16:20
-
16:20
-
15:50
-
15:40
-
15:20
-
15:19
-
14:48
-
14:40
-
14:20
-
13:50
-
13:48
-
13:00
-
12:50
-
12:45
-
12:30
-
12:20
-
12:00
-
12:00
