A customs agent wears a patch for the U.S. Customs and Border Safety company on Oct. 27, 2017, at John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport in New York.
Mark Lennihan/AP
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Mark Lennihan/AP
NEW YORK — A reputed Peruvian gang chief suspected in practically two dozen killings in his dwelling nation was arrested Wednesday in New York by U.S. immigration authorities.
Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, the chief of “Los Killers” who is needed for 23 killings in Peru, was arrested in Endicott, New York, about 145 miles northwest of New York Metropolis, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement mentioned Thursday. He’s being held at a federal detention facility close to Buffalo pending an immigration listening to, Immigration and Customs Enforcement mentioned.
Torres-Navarro, 38, entered the U.S. illegally on the Texas-Mexico border on Could 16. He was arrested the identical day and given a discover to seem for immigration proceedings, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement mentioned.
The company, often known as ICE, mentioned it moved to arrest Torres-Navarro after receiving data on July 8 that he was needed in Peru.
“Gianfranco Torres-Navarro poses a major menace to our communities, and we cannot permit New York to be a protected haven for harmful noncitizens,” mentioned Thomas Brophy, the director of enforcement removing operations for ICE’s Buffalo subject workplace.
Immigration brokers additionally arrested Torres-Navarro’s girlfriend, Mishelle Sol Ivanna Ortíz Ubillús, described by Peruvian authorities as his proper hand. She is being held at a processing heart in Pennsylvania, in accordance with ICE’s On-line Detainee Locator System.
On-line immigration detention data for Torres-Navarro and Ortíz Ubillús didn’t embody data on legal professionals who may touch upon their behalf.
Peru’s justice system confirmed to The Related Press that it ordered the placement and worldwide seize of Torres-Navarro and his accomplice Ortiz-Ubilluz on July 3.
In accordance with Peruvian authorities, Torres-Navarro is the chief of a legal group often known as “Los Killers de Ventanilla y Callao” that has used violence to thwart rivals searching for to chop into its core enterprise of extorting building corporations.
“Gianfranco 23” had managed to keep away from earlier makes an attempt to carry him accountable
Torres-Navarro allegedly fled Peru after the killing of retired police officer Cesar Quegua Herrera and the capturing of a municipal worker at a restaurant in San Miguel in March, Peruvian media reported.
Six reputed members of “Los Killers,” shaped in 2022 in an space alongside the Pacific coast the place Peru’s primary port is positioned, had been arrested in a sequence of raids in June and accused of murder, contract killing, and extortion, the Nationwide Police of Peru mentioned.
Torres-Navarro was beforehand a member of the Los Malditos de Angamos legal group, Peru’s Public Prosecutor’s Workplace mentioned. He’s also referred to as “Gianfranco 23,” a reference to the variety of individuals he’s alleged to have killed.
Torres-Navarro eluded earlier makes an attempt to carry him accountable for his alleged crimes.
In 2019, whereas on the run from authorities, he was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in jail for unlawful weapons possession. He remained at massive till 2021, when he was arrested at a toll checkpoint close to Peru’s capital metropolis, Lima. However even then, he did not keep behind bars for lengthy. After an acquittal in that case, Torres-Navarro was freed final December.
Quickly after, Peruvian authorities mentioned, “Los Killers” ramped up its violence, culminating within the capturing in San Miguel.
Torres-Navarro’s girlfriend, Ortiz Ubillús, has a outstanding function in “Los Killers,” Peruvian authorities mentioned. The Public Prosecutor’s Workplace described her as Torres Navarro’s romantic accomplice, lieutenant and cashier.
She additionally has a large following on the social media platform TikTok the place she confirmed off their lavish way of life, together with designer garments, resort holidays and capturing targets at a gun vary.
