US embassy cable - 05LIMA2702

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 002702 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPT FOR INR/I, WHA/AND 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2030 
TAGS: PINR, PE 
SUBJECT: ORGANIZED CRIME GROUPS (C-CN5-00417) -- PERU 
 
REF: A. STATE 80732 
     B. 04 LIMA 3737 
 
Classified By: A/Polcouns Art Muirhead for Reason 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1. (C/NF) Information requested in Ref A regarding the 
activity in Peru of organized crimes groups based in 
specified countries is summarized below.  The countries 
listed are the only ones from those cited in Ref A for which 
Embassy agencies possess significant background data. 
 
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Russia 
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2. (U) The case of convicted drug traffickers and arms 
smugglers Luis Frank and Jose Luis Aybar Cancho has links to 
Russian organized crime.  The investigation of the Aybar 
Cancho brothers linked them to the unexplained landing of a 
Russian aircraft in Iquitos, Peru in March 1999, and to the 
Russian firm "Trensa," represented in Peru by Russian citizen 
Victor Eugenevich Ivachine.  The Aybars were subsequently 
found to be involved in the illicit shipment of Russian arms 
through Jordan to the FARC in Colombia.  The Aybars are 
currently on trial in Peru for arms smuggling.  Peru has 
authorized their extradition to face drug trafficking charges 
in the U.S. once their local trial has concluded. 
 
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Japan 
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3. (C) Ref B describes a case of Peruvians victimized by the 
Japanese Yazuka in a trafficking in persons and prostitution 
scheme.  At least three women are known to have been 
recruited in this fashion, although the number of actual 
victims may be far greater.  In the instant case, two 
Peruvians of Japanese descent, Maria del Pilar Yataco 
Nakarone and (FNU) Morishima, made false promises to Peruvian 
women that they would receive legitimate employment in 
Narita, Japan.  When the women arrived, their handlers took 
away their passports, raped them, and held them captive for 
three days.  They were eventually sold to a Yazuka member in 
Nagoya identified as (FNU) Yamata.  The Peruvians were forced 
to work as prostitutes along with other foreign women (Thais, 
Filipinos, Brazilians, Venezuelans and Chinese), and told 
their families would be killed if they attempted to return 
home.  The three women eventually escaped their servitude, 
and two were repatriated with GOP assistance. 
 
4. (U) The Peruvian media have focused attention on the 
associates of former President Alberto Fujimori since he 
became a fugitive in Japan after abandoning Peru.  In an 
interview in the June 2, 2005 edition of leading news 
magazine "Caretas," Peruvian Ambassador to Japan Luis 
Macchiavello listed a number of shady individuals who have 
become supporters of Fujimori since the latter's flight to 
Japan:  Muneo Suzuki (a former federal deputy jailed for 
bribery); Satomi Kataoka (Fujimori's alleged paramour, 
accused in 2003 of tax evasion); Takeshi Igarashi (arrested 
for trade union racketeering); Torao Tokuda (a federal deputy 
accused of tax evasion); Shizuka Komei (a federal deputy 
involved in a vote-buying scandal); Toshio Yabuki (arrested 
for defrauding 3,000 investors of $100 million, including the 
sale of commemorative Inca medallions, for which Fujimori was 
a principal advisor); and Yasuyuki Kitano (imprisoned for 
fraud).  Ambassador Macchiavello intimated that several of 
these individuals were being investigated by Japanese 
authorities for Yazuka connections. 
 
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China 
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5. (SBU) The Lima DHS Office has identified numerous 
instances of smuggling of PRC nationals to the U.S. through 
Peru.  In the past, Peruvian confederates with lawfully 
obtained non-immigrant visas would procure tickets and 
boarding passes for flights from Lima to the U.S., then turn 
these over to a smuggler, who would use them to board his 
Chinese national client on the aircraft.  Stricter security 
procedures at the Lima international airport have made this 
type of fraud harder to perpetrate.  Nonetheless, there are 
still indications that PRC nationals are able to enter Peru 
surreptitiously, fly to the Ecuadorian border, and travel 
overland to Guayaquil, their point of departure for 
attempting illegal entry into the U.S.  Smugglers in the 
Chinese community in Peru are said to charge between $10 and 
$50 thousand to transport an individual from the PRC to the 
U.S. 
 
6. (SBU) The Peruvian firm "Taiwan Tours Travel Agency" has 
been linked to obtaining Peruvian visas for Chinese citizens 
under false pretenses.  The Peruvian brokerage company "Arbol 
Grande S.A." has been linked to the printing of fraudulent 
stock and bond certificates, which are used by Chinese 
clients as false evidence of financial solvency. 
 
7. (SBU) In a July 2003 incident, 12 Chinese arrived in Lima 
on a Lan Chile flight from Santiago.  All members of the 
group claimed to be students from Taiwan, who were on a 
long-term study trip, with a routing of Taiwan - Malaysia - 
Argentina - Chile - Peru - Costa Rica - Puerto Rico. 
Suspicions were aroused when it was noted that all were 
traveling with little more than overnight bags.  Interviews 
at the Taiwanese Embassy in Lima revealed that all but two of 
the passports were part of a lot that had been reported 
stolen.  The two individuals with valid passports (and valid 
U.S. visas) were the alien smugglers, identified as WENG, 
Chen-Chung (DPOB 10-OCT-78, Taiwan), and YAO, Hung-Wei (DPOB 
15-Apr-73, Taipei City). 
 
8. (SBU) The Peruvian National Police (PNP) Interpol Office 
is currently investigating a group of Chinese citizens 
operating in Trujillo (northern coastal Peru) that is 
involved in recruiting Peruvian women to work as prostitutes. 
 Two years ago, PNP Interpol investigated a group of Chinese 
citizens in Lima known as "Dragon Rojo (Red Dragon)" which 
was involved in extortion of Peruvians of Chinese descent. 
STRUBLE