Trujillo Kidnapping: Peru Police Free Mining Businessman, Arrest Five
PERU · TRUJILLO KIDNAPPING
Update: This article follows our coverage of the 30 August Trujillo attack, when businessman Jens Lara Tantaquilla was still missing. He has since been freed.
Key Facts
—The rescue: Police freed mining businessman Jenss Lara Tantaquilla, kidnapped in the Trujillo kidnapping that left four people dead on Sunday, in an operation north of the city.
—The arrests: Five alleged members of the “Los Pulpos” gang were captured in the districts of El Porvenir and Chepén, police chief Óscar Arriola announced.
—The open question: Was a ransom paid? Arriola called the payment version “preliminary information” and said operations are still running.
—The backdrop: The political storm over the massacre continues — the Renovación Popular caucus demands Arriola’s resignation, and a bill in Congress would let President Keiko Fujimori dismiss him early.
The Trujillo kidnapping that shocked Peru has its first resolution. Less than 48 hours after a fake police commando murdered four people and abducted mining businessman Jenss Lara Tantaquilla in the heart of Trujillo, the National Police announced his release and the capture of five alleged kidnappers — while carefully leaving the most sensitive question open: whether money changed hands.
The rescue north of Trujillo
The announcement came on Monday, first from the police leadership on the ground and then from the Interior Ministry in Lima. After operations deployed across several points of Trujillo, officers located Lara Tantaquilla alive. “The release took place to the north of the city of Trujillo,” said the commander general of the National Police, Óscar Arriola, who had flown in with Defense Minister Rafael Belaúnde to direct the response.
According to the Interior Ministry, the same sweep led to the capture of five men believed to belong to the “Los Pulpos” criminal gang, found in the districts of El Porvenir, adjacent to Trujillo, and Chepén, further up the northern coast. Arriola named them: Frank Quezada Cruz, alias “Ñato”; Julio Zavaleta Quezada, alias “Juliacho”; César García Rivera, alias “Bolacho”; Ángel Bocanegra Linares, alias “Folo”; and José Cherrepe Dávila, alias “Ares”. Investigations, he added, continue.
Belaúnde, who had traveled to La Libertad on Sunday night on orders from the cabinet, praised the result and promised there would be “no truce in the fight against crime”. President Keiko Fujimori, who had convened her Council of Ministers 18 hours after the attack, posted her “recognition of our National Police for its rapid and firm response”, alongside condolences to the families of the four dead.
The ransom question the police will not answer
From the first hours on Monday, versions circulated in Trujillo that the businessman had been freed by his captors after the payment of a large sum. Asked directly, Arriola chose his words with care. “Regarding the payment of the ransom, this is preliminary information. The operations are still underway,” he said.
The distinction matters politically as much as operationally. A rescue by police pressure would vindicate a force whose leadership is fighting for survival; a release bought with a ransom would confirm the extortion economy the government vows to break. For now, the official line is deliberate ambiguity — the state news agency Andina noted that police would not confirm whether the liberation was negotiated, paid for, or forced.
What happened in the Trujillo kidnapping
The crime that triggered it all unfolded in the early hours of Sunday, 30 August, on Avenida Húsares de Junín, in central Trujillo — two blocks from the regional criminal investigation headquarters. Gunmen wearing tactical uniforms of Grecco, the elite police unit against organized crime, intercepted the white pickup in which Lara Tantaquilla traveled with four companions, simulating a police stop.
The attackers murdered all four companions in the vehicle: Farhad Andrea Monzón Lingán, the businessman’s partner; Nadia Edith Urtecho Rodríguez; and Luis Alberto Rojas Ramos and Christopher Eduardo García Álvarez, who worked as his private security. Lara Tantaquilla, 31, a mineral trader from the Chilla district in Pataz province, was forced into the attackers’ car. When The Rio Times first reported the attack, he remained missing.
The victim’s own profile adds a layer to the case. According to El Comercio, Lara Tantaquilla has been linked to the Reinfo, the registry of informal miners, and is under investigation in connection with illegal gold trading — a line of inquiry that could explain why he was targeted by one of the extortion gangs bleeding La Libertad’s mining corridor.
The politics the Trujillo kidnapping unleashed
The rescue may ease the pressure on the police command, but it will not end it. On Sunday, before the liberation, the Renovación Popular caucus formally demanded Arriola’s “immediate resignation”, arguing that “the overflow of crime and the lack of results in security” proved a “leadership vacuum” at the top of the force. In parallel, the Juntos por el Perú bench presented a bill that would empower President Fujimori to remove the police chief early on grounds of “supervening loss of suitability”.
Both initiatives remain on the table. The congressional debate now turns on whether Monday’s result — a freed hostage and five arrests within 48 hours — demonstrates a police force that works, or one that reacts only when a case dominates the national agenda. Prime Minister Luis Galarreta has already signaled the government will ask Congress for powers to reinforce police intelligence in the north.
On the ground, the tone is rawer. The La Libertad police chief, General Ricardo Espinoza, had promised on Sunday that “no criminal has beaten the State — we will capture them and bring them down”, pledging lethal force against future attacks. Five captures and a live hostage later, his region remains what it was before the Trujillo kidnapping: the front line of Peru’s struggle with organized crime.
Frequently asked questions
Was the businessman kidnapped in Trujillo freed?
Yes. Police announced on 31 August 2026 that Jenss Lara Tantaquilla was located alive north of Trujillo, less than 48 hours after his abduction.
Who was arrested in the Trujillo kidnapping case?
Five alleged members of the “Los Pulpos” gang, captured in El Porvenir and Chepén: Frank Quezada Cruz, Julio Zavaleta Quezada, César García Rivera, Ángel Bocanegra Linares and José Cherrepe Dávila.
Was a ransom paid for his release?
Unconfirmed. Police chief Óscar Arriola called the payment version “preliminary information” and said operations were still underway.
What happened on 30 August in Trujillo?
Gunmen disguised as Grecco police officers intercepted the businessman’s pickup, murdered his four companions and abducted him, two blocks from the city’s criminal investigation headquarters.
What are the political consequences?
The Renovación Popular caucus demands the resignation of police chief Óscar Arriola, and a Juntos por el Perú bill would let President Keiko Fujimori dismiss him early. Both remain open after the rescue.
Sources: Interior Ministry of Peru; Gestión; Andina; Exitosa Noticias; El Comercio; Diario Correo; Monitor Perú.
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