HomeNewsBriefPeru Shoots Down Narco Plane Heading to Bolivia
BRIEF

Peru Shoots Down Narco Plane Heading to Bolivia

PERU / 2 MAR 2015 BY LOREN RIESENFELD EN

Police in Peru have shot down a drug plane in the notorious VRAEM region, in a move that signals the government’s return to a controversial shoot-down policy intended to impair illegal activity in one of the region’s most important drug trafficking hubs.

A special operations unit from Peru’s anti-drug agency intercepted the plane in the expansive and inhospitable Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro River Valleys (VRAEM) on February 26, according to Peruvian news agency Andina. The pilot reportedly escaped, but police recovered 288 kilograms of cocaine, communications equipment, and firearms.

Police also found a clandestine airstrip nearby the downed plane. In the town where police discovered the airstrip, locals reported the existence of construction companies that build airstrips with quick turnaround times and lease them to drug traffickers, according to Diario Correo.

This is the first shoot down of a drug plane since Peru announced the creation of a no-fly zone in the VRAEM at a February 4 press conference, at which anti-drug chief Alberto Otarola said unreported flights would be considered “hostile and illegal.”

InSight Crime Analysis

As the epicenter of drug trafficking in Peru, the VRAEM produces an estimated 200 tons of cocaine annually, with up to ten daily drug flights connecting the coca producing regions to Bolivia and Brazil. The announcement of the no-fly zone in early February was tempered by questions of monitoring capacity -- radar coverage in the VRAEM is sparse -- as well as safety concerns.

SEE ALSO: Peru News and Profiles 

According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Peru shot down at least 30 planes in the 1990s as part of an effort to end an air bridge linking coca producers with processing facilities in Colombia. The interception policy abruptly ended after an accidental shoot down killed a US missionary and her daughter in 2001.

The return to the shoot down policies is indicative of the lack of effective security strategies authorities have to combat drug trafficking in the VRAEM. Coca eradication efforts have fallen in the past due to threats from the Shining Path, which maintains an armed insurgency in the region. Destroying clandestine airstrips has proved ineffective as well, with drug traffickers able to rebuild runways within 24 hours.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

HAITI / 13 MAR 2023

Gang leader Vitel’Homme Innocent has risen quickly in Haiti's criminal landscape. Now he's linked with the murder of former president…

CHILE / 16 NOV 2022

The capture of Tren de Aragua members will test if Peru and Chile’s prisons can hold this dangerous gang.

COCA / 2 JUN 2022

Rich in resources, Peru's Amazon is being plundered at an accelerated rate, losing more than 26,000 square kilometers of forest…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.