A reputed Peruvian gang leader suspected in 23 killings in his home country was arrested on Wednesday in New York, US immigration authorities said on Thursday.
Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, the leader of “Los Killers,” who is wanted for the killings in Peru, was arrested in Endicott, New York, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said.
He is being held at a federal detention facility near Buffalo pending an immigration hearing, it said.
Torres-Navarro, 38, entered the US illegally at the Texas-Mexico border on May 16, and he was arrested the same day and given a notice to appear for immigration proceedings, ICE said.
US authorities moved to arrest Torres-Navarro after receiving information on July 8 that he was wanted in Peru.
“Gianfranco Torres-Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities, and we won’t allow New York to be a safe haven for dangerous noncitizens,” said Thomas Brophy, the director of enforcement removal operations for ICE’s Buffalo field office.
Immigration agents also arrested Torres-Navarro’s girlfriend, Mishelle Sol Ivanna Ortiz Ubillus, described by Peruvian authorities as his right hand. She is being held at a processing center in Pennsylvania, ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System showed.
Online immigration detention records for Torres-Navarro and Ortiz Ubillus did not include information on their lawyers.
Peru’s justice system confirmed that it ordered the location and international capture of Torres-Navarro and his partner Ortiz-Ubilluz on July 3.
Peruvian High Complexity Crime Investigations Division head Colonel Franco Moreno said that they tracked phone calls, locations and messages from Torres-Navarro and his gang of at least 10 members.
“He is a highly dangerous criminal who believed he was untouchable and responsible for 23 murders, including other gang leaders who ended up dead along with their families, all in order to increase his criminal leadership,” Moreno said.
Torres-Navarro allegedly fled Peru after the killing of a retired police officer and the shooting of a municipal employee at a restaurant in San Miguel in March, Peruvian media reported.
Torres-Navarro is also known as “Gianfranco 23,” a reference to the number of people he is alleged to have killed.
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