Peruvian authorities say El Chapo’s old cartel financed construction of underground tunnel

Authorities in Peru uncovered an underground tunnel that was partly constructed to aid in the jail escape of a group of drug traffickers, including a Serbian man with connections to Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s old Sinaloa Cartel.

Peruvian agents discovered the secret passageway Monday near the Miguel Castro Castro Prison in the Lima district of San Juan de Lurigancho.

According to the National Police of Peru, construction began about a year and a half ago after a Colombian national rented a property located only several hundred feet away from the prison.

View of a tunnel found near a maximum security prison believed to have been excavated for the escape of foreign drug traffickers with ties to Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s Sinaloa Cartel

Serbian drug trafficker Zoran Jaksic is serving a 25-year prison sentence in Peru 

Peruvian news network America Noticias reported that Serbian drug dealer Zoran Jaksic and a Mexican man jailed for drug trafficking had signed off on the plan to build the tunnel.

Initial findings revealed that the cartel employed between four to six workers who built the 590-foot long tunnel at a depth of 33 feet that was intended to lead the inmates to the prison’s cafeteria area. Neighborhood residents told authorities that construction work was generally done overnight and that it was common to see dump trucks driving in and out of the property to carry away the excess rubble that had been cleared out from underground.

‘I have canvassed the entire tunnel, it is approximately 180 meters [590 feet] long. There is a split to the left 130 meters [426 feet] out,’ National Police of Peru Command General César Cervantes said. ‘We had to use an excavator to confirm the route. We have also found some evidence of what they have been working with.’  

Peruvian authorities say the construction of the tunnel was financed by the Sinaloa Cartel. Plans to complete it were halted in February 2019 when Zoran Jaksic was transferred to a different prison amidst rumors of a possible escape

View of the entrance to a tunnel found near a maximum security prison in Lima, Peru, believed to have been excavated for the escape of foreign drug traffickers

Peruvian authorities believe the Sinaloa Cartel also brought in engineers from Mexico and hired workers from Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia to dig out the tunnel

Authorities believe that the cartel also brought in engineers from Mexico and hired workers from Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia to dig out the tunnel. 

However, plans to complete the tunnel were halted in February 2019 after Jaksic was transferred to a different prison amidst rumors of a possible escape.

At least six other prisoners from Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico have been transferred from the jail since the tunnel’s discovery. 

Jaksic was detained in Peru in July 2016  as part of an investigation in which almost 800 kilos of cocaine were going to be shipped and sold outside the Andean nation by the drug trafficking syndicate, Grupo América. He was sentenced to 25 years in April 2019.

The National Police of Peru said the tunnel is 590 feet long and has a depth of  33 feet

Jaksic was detained in Peru in July 2016 as part of an investigation in which almost 800 kilos of cocaine were going to be shipped out of the country. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April 2019