The general commander of the National Police (PNP), Victor Zanabriaindicated on Monday that the wave of extortions against public transport companies is due to informality in the transport system. He also indicated that the companies that are victims of these crimes do not file the corresponding complaints with the PNP.
LOOK: ‘Dinamóvil’ driver will have to tell the truth
Zanabria explained that the extortion activities have been going on for “several years” and “are born from informality.” “The bus drivers and informal transportation are providing services for up to 10 soles per fare,” he said on RPP. In addition, the PNP commander indicated that the companies do not report the threats.
“I’ll give you the example of the company El Chino. I saw on television that this company was reporting that it was being extorted. However, we as police had no complaints. So, a void was created,” he said.
The officer also said that a meeting was held with public transport companies where it was agreed that they would formally file extortion complaints with the PNP. In addition, a series of preventive measures were established, such as introducing Terna group members disguised as civilians as passengers in public transport units.
He also indicated that patrol units have been established on the route where the attacks on transport vehicles were reported.
Zanabria considered that the extortion allegations in the media “are playing into the hands of the extortion echo chamber,” because, he said, extortion “needs fear, dread and anxiety.”
“We have a strike by transport operators because they created a sounding board to cause fear in all drivers. They send a bullet to a house, the criminal takes a photo, sends it to another company, they share it immediately and fear is generated so that everyone is in a state of anxiety and finds themselves obliged or afraid to want to pay without being able to give information to the police,” he said.
Finally, the PNP commander general pointed out that it is important to classify these acts as “urban terrorism,” which should be punished with an “evident sanction.”
Transporters strike
This Monday, drivers from various public transport companies staged a sit-in on the Panamericana Norte highway in response to extortion attacks that left three drivers dead.
The drivers blocked part of the road and forced other public transport buses to stop.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO:
