Agents from the Orion group of the Anti-Drug Directorate (Dirandro) of the National Police of Peru (PNP) dismantled a dangerous criminal organization dedicated to the illicit trafficking of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, from a regional hospital in Cajamarca to the United States.
According to information revealed by the Cuarto Poder program, the gang, led by Colombian Elkin Ramírez and Peruvian Josué Vásquez Arroyo, had as its initial objective the shipment of 5,000 ampoules of fentanyl, whose value on the black market would exceed 150,000 dollars.
Police investigations led to the capture of Skot Chávez Salazar in the district of Surco, who was found in possession of the 5,000 ampoules ready to be delivered to the buyer.
In parallel, in Cajamarca, authorities identified Maritza Gutiérrez, a pharmacy technician at the Regional Hospital, as the main supplier of fentanyl. Despite denying the accusations, Gutiérrez is accused of issuing false prescriptions and illegally removing more than 1,500 ampoules from the hospital, which she sold for 30 soles each.
Likewise, Maritza Sugey Gutiérrez, also linked to the case, was caught hiding 16 prescriptions without a signature.
The director of the Cajamarca Regional Hospital, Jhony Barrantes, expressed his surprise at the news, stating that the hospital had not acquired the medicine and that the purchase of this type of drugs was the responsibility of the National Center for the Storage of Strategic Resources (CENARES).
