The ingenuity of drug traffickers No vacations, weekends or holidays are taken. The agents of the Anti-Drug Directorateneither. But, what happened at 9:46 p.m. on January 11, when a Peruvian couple entered the Jorge Chávez International Airport, It surprised the most ‘hardened’ police officers.
It was a strange operation no matter how you look at it, since there is no similar record.
That night, Jhossep Infante López and Ruth Acosta Tineo They arrived like any other traveler: calm, with their suitcases and tickets in hand. There was nothing to suggest that, under their clothing, they were hiding an illegal substance that would change their lives.
The destination was USAvia Chile, the risk of course was absolute, although the reward promised to have quick money.
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However, in the corridors of Peru’s first air terminal, the strategy was activated to the maximum. The woman, calm, managed the check-in and then separated from her partner carrying 3,270 kilograms of ketamine. He advanced alone, without luggage, carrying on his body other 4 kilos 335 grams of the same substance adhered to the body, like a ‘human mummy’.
The plan, which seemed perfect until that moment, was broken in a matter of seconds. A drug cannon stopped, sat down and dialed.
The examination revealed packages on the back, thighs and legs. The woman involved said that it was a traveling merchant in Aguas Verdes and that, after being captured by Jhossep, moved from Ecuador.
This new modality was discovered. The hands that received the US$1,000 fiancés were handcuffed. Drug trafficking once again showed how far it can go.
They are two of the five burriers detained this year (from January 1 to February 10) in the aJorge Chávez International Airport.
General PNP Leiby Huamán Daza, Anti-Drug Director explains that there are three women and two men. “Two of them were caught for carrying drugs in luggage, one by ingestion and the other two attached to the body,” he told The Republicin an exclusive interview.
Likewise, he explained that two had as their destination country Brazil, 2 went to Chile and one to Spain. “The five are Peruvians and they tried to pass 19 kilos 325 grams of cocaine hydrochloride,” he said. The officer assures that in the case of ketamine this modality has not been seen in history. The ‘mummy’ in the country has been used to send cocaine, but it is the first time that this anesthetic has been seized with that method.
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It is a fast acting substance which is used both with humans (as a sedative in minor operations) and with animals (as a tranquilizer). At high doses, it causes intoxication and hallucinations similar to those of LSD. Researchers point out that it is the basis for the production of ‘Tusi’.
Catches increase
Even more worrying, arrests of those who risk their health and freedom for a wad of 1,500 to 3 thousand dollars have once again increased. According to the Police, in the last 25 months there have been 259 burriers arrested. In 2024 they were apprehended 175 ‘human couriers’, of which 166 were Peruvians. Last year there were 79 traffickers who tried to get 482 kilos with 878 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, according to reports from the Dirandro.
General Huamán maintains that there were 34 women and 45 men. Of them, 41 tried to get alkaloid in luggage, 26 were in carry-on suitcases, 4 were ‘ingested’ and 11 were attached to the body.
The majority were Peruvians (63) Six Spaniards and two Japanese were also arrested. A German, an Argentinian, a Moldovan, a Bulgarian and a Brazilian were also arrested.
The statistics say that Spain (47), France (9) and Brazil (7) are the main destinations for the ‘mules’, that the list also includes Italy (6), Chile (2), the Netherlands (2), one United Arab Emirates as well as Portugal, Argentina and Japan and that the United States (2) is no longer one of the favorite destinations.
The director of Dirandro assures that 75 of the burriers fell at the Jorge Chávez airport and 4 at the Velasco Astete airport in Cusco. “The mafias are recruiting more Peruvians in the provinces without having greater knowledge of the organization,” he warns. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are the days with the highest number of flights to Europe.
The authorities explain that drug traffickers are finding it increasingly difficult to transport large shipments of drugs and have returned to the old method of human mail.
From networks to bars
Although the case was only revealed in January, the truth is that on December 12, 2025 there was a case that caused a stir.
This is the case of the Peruvians Alexandra Salvatierra Elías and Jimena Uriarte Castro, two influencers, 23-year-old Peruvians, who changed Instagram filters for prison. Their destination was Bali (Indonesia) with stops in Madrid (Spain) and Doha (Qatar), but their trip ended before taking off from the Jorge Chávez.
The young women were arrested with 1,390 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and with 400 grams of ketamine, mixed with Tusi, hidden in your luggage. They intended to reach one of the countries with the most severe laws in the world against drug trafficking: Indonesia, a country where each kilo of cocaine could exceed the 180 thousand dollars.
The mafias recruit them like this, with promises of sponsored trips, modeling contracts and cash payments. They use their profile as “tourists” to evade suspicion, turning them into disposable pieces of a deadly business.
Alexandra Salvatierra had already made four trips abroad. Therefore, the hypothesis arises that he would have transported drugs to other countries. In her migratory movement certificate it appears that the influencer traveled to Netherlands, Colombia and Panama between 2023 and 2025. In addition, he has a history of a fraud 12 thousand dollars.
On the other hand, Jimena Uriarte does not register trips abroad, however, has a history for illegal possession of ammunition and micro-marketing of Tusi.
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Both now remain under preventive detention for a period of 18 months, while the investigations last. But who are the people who financed the passports, travel tickets, hotel reservations and the transfer to the airport?
Drug prices
Dirandro’s special teams operate 24/7 following suspects closely or through multiple security cameras. However, if the narcotic crosses our borders it becomes a very lucrative business.
Peru, after Colombia, is the second largest producer of cocaine hydrochloride in the world. In the areas of Vraem and Huallagaa kilo of this substance costs around 1,300 dollars.
However, its value multiplies exponentially outside the country: US$8,000 in Miami, US$19,500 in Canada, and up to US$35,000 in European countries such as Holland, Spain or Italy.
In Australia, this rate can reach US$90,000, and in Asia (Indonesia, for example), it can reach up to US$180,000 per kilo.
It is a never ending war.
They can be sentenced to eight to 15 years in prison.
The crime of drug trafficking, in its different modalities, represents the 15%, approximately, of the total of the procedural burden presented in the Judicial District of Callao, the criminal judge estimated Roberto Sucno Jara.
Regarding the burriers, he maintains that these are mostly resolved quickly through the figure of early terminationin which the accused accepts responsibility.
“In the investigation, videos of the accused’s movement, the weighing of drugs, and telephone conversations through seized phones are collected.
These ‘human couriers’, which are punished with penalties between 8 and 15 years in prison.
