Peru's Own Migration Agency Blows Whistle on Officials Accused of Bribery to Move Children Past Border Control

Authorities say suspects charged $200–$300 to facilitate minors' departures and falsified migration records between 2022 and 2025.

Azucena Salazar / Published Oct 28 2026, 11:59 AM EDT



Police officers carry out a security check minutes before the inauguration of the new Jorge Chavez International Airport in Callao, Metropolitan Lima, on May 30, 2025. Photo by Connie FRANCE / AFP) (Photo by CONNIE FRANCE/AFP via Getty Images
The Briefing:


  • 12 people detained on October 27 across five Peruvian regions in a joint Public Prosecutor–National Police operation
  • Suspects allegedly charged $200–$300 per minor to bypass border controls, primarily at Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport
  • Investigators are examining falsified entries in Peru's Migratory Information Registry spanning 2022 through 2025
  • Charges include aggravated migrant trafficking, attacks on computer data integrity, generic fraud, and membership in a criminal organization

Peruvian authorities took 12 people into preliminary custody in a pre-dawn raid on Tuesday — among them active and former officials of the country's own migration agency and members of the National Police — suspected of running an organized network that charged up to $300 per person to facilitate the unauthorized departure of minors from Peru.

The arrests signal a systemic breakdown inside one of Latin America's most sensitive border-control institutions, and raise urgent questions about how deeply corruption may have penetrated Peru's migration infrastructure over the past three years.
A Pre-Dawn Sweep Across Five Regions

The operation unfolded simultaneously in Lima, Callao, Tumbes, Puno, and Lambayeque, beginning at 1:45 a.m. on October 27 — a timing calculated to leave suspects little chance to destroy evidence or flee. The Ministerio Público, working alongside the National Police's Department of Investigation Against International Organized Crime, directed the effort following a formal complaint filed by the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones itself.

That detail carries significant weight: the agency did not wait for outside whistleblowers. Migraciones formally flagged the suspected irregularities, setting off the judicial process that culminated in Tuesday's raids.
Among those detained were current officials, former employees of the migration agency, and active police officers — a combination that investigators say gave the alleged scheme institutional cover across multiple fronts.

Peru: One Kidnapping Report Every 93 Minutes — Criminal Networks Are Swapping Threats for AbductionsRead more

$200 to $300 to Move a Child Past Border Control

The alleged mechanics were straightforward and, according to prosecutors, disturbingly routine. As reported by RPP Noticias, investigators say the suspects facilitated the departure of minors from Peru without the legally required authorization, primarily through Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport, in exchange for payments of between $200 and $300 per individual.

Prosecutors are now working to map the network's full scope — who authorized what, how many cases went undetected, and whether additional insiders remain unidentified. The investigation is focused on determining whether the suspects acted in a coordinated manner and establishing each person's specific role.
The targeting of minors adds legal and moral gravity to the case. Under Peruvian law, a child's exit from the country requires explicit authorization from a parent or legal guardian; circumventing that requirement exposes the child to risks that range from exploitation to trafficking.
Ghost Border Crossings: Three Years of Falsified Records

A second investigative thread — and arguably the one with the broadest institutional implications — centers on what prosecutors describe as deliberate data manipulation inside the Registro de Información Migratoria (RIM), Peru's official border-tracking system.

According to the Fiscalía, the suspects allegedly logged false movement records for foreign nationals in the system, registering border crossings that never physically occurred at any checkpoint. If those phantom entries are proven, it would mean the integrity of Peru's official migration database had been compromised for years, not days.
The Migraciones complaint covers alleged procedural violations in migration control spanning 2022 through 2025 — a window that crosses multiple administrations and budget cycles, suggesting the corruption may have been structural rather than isolated.
Raids, Seized Laptops, and Forged Documents

The Segundo Despacho de la Décimo Segunda Fiscalía Provincial Penal Corporativa, headed by provincial prosecutor Israel Luna Ramírez, directed Tuesday's actions with support from prosecutors specializing in organized crime.

Investigators did not leave empty-handed. According to Herqles, authorities seized laptops, mobile phones, and documents believed to have been falsified — material that will now go through forensic analysis to reconstruct the network's communications, transaction history, and reach.
The four charges filed against the 12 detainees — aggravated migrant trafficking, attacks on computer data integrity, generic fraud, and operating as a criminal organization — reflect the layered nature of the alleged scheme, which combined physical border manipulation with what appears to be deliberate digital fraud.
Migraciones Distances Itself and Pledges Full Cooperation

The Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones moved swiftly to draw a clear line between the institution and the individuals under investigation. In an official statement, the agency confirmed that the alleged irregularities correspond to migration control procedures carried out between 2022 and 2025, and it stressed that Migraciones itself was the one that brought the matter to prosecutors' attention.

The agency pledged to continue cooperating with the investigation and announced plans to strengthen its oversight and prevention mechanisms to protect border security and public confidence. An institution that self-reported occupies a different legal and reputational position than one caught off-guard or implicated at the leadership level — but the fact that the alleged conduct persisted for up to three years before a formal complaint was filed is a question investigators and the public are unlikely to set aside.
All allegations remain unproven. The case is under active investigation, and no convictions have been entered. The 12 detainees remain in preliminary custody as prosecutors build their case.

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Peru's Own Migration Agency Blows Whistle on Officials Accused of Bribery to Move Children Past Border Control