How many Argentine fugitives are wanted by Interpol and what are the most repeated crimes?

The first red circular of Interpol in Argentina is from 1947. Roberto Galluppe was wanted for carrying out a scam through a textile company.

Seventy-five years later, Interpol closed 2022 with these numbers: 110 active arrests (21 Argentines), 12 Argentines detained abroad and extradited, 69 passive arrests (13 Argentines) and 56 passive extraditions completed (8 Argentines).

​There are currently at least another

with public red notices in circulation.

They look for them in the country and also abroad.

In February of this year, one of the most wanted Argentines turned himself in: Leandro Sebastián Martínez (43), a fugitive since January 2020 for the sexual abuse of his niece, a 12-year-old girl, who recorded the attack to demonstrate his story in a country song by Francisco Álvarez (Moreno).

Leandro Sebastián Martínez (43) had a national and international arrest warrant, with a red alert from Interpol, for abusing his 12-year-old niece.

"One of the biggest challenges and attractions of our job is looking for

. Our mission is limited to stopping them; we don't have to find evidence to blame them, like detectives from other divisions," he says. a researcher consulted by

.

And he adds: "Here every day is different: you can go from looking for an Italian from the Calabrian mafia who lives in Nordelta and has legal business in Argentina to a South American who is hiding in some Buenos Aires town or a town in the interior of the country for a crime or an abuse".

Since 1962, Interpol Argentina has been represented by members of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA).

They have fugitive search brigades (for people hiding in Argentina) and a follow-up table that deals with those who flee abroad.

Some of the Argentine women listed with Interpol red notices.

With the data generated, they contact Interpol divisions in other countries and share the information so that foreign agents can carry out the arrest.

For that they always have translators available 24 hours a day.

Active detentions are those carried out abroad (whether Argentines or foreigners), at the request of national judicial authorities.

That is, Argentines or foreigners who committed a crime in Argentina.

The most publicized in 2022 was that of

, arrested in the Dominican Republic for pyramid schemes.

But there are others that probably did not make news to the media.

Like that of a 24-year-old from Cordoba, detained in Poland.

He was at an aunt's and they located him by the IP of a photo.

Leonardo Cositorto, detained by Interpol in the Dominican Republic.

This man is only one of the 31 who were wanted, and were arrested, for

(in the list of crimes he is followed by the

, with 25 detainees, homicides with 13 and robberies with 9).

"He managed to leave Argentina without impediments," recalls one of the three sources consulted by

, who prefer not to reveal their identity because they are detectives, one of those who work in the field.

"In addition, many times we investigate heavy people," they argue.

And another takes up: "I would say that 99% of the people who are found outside of South America managed to travel before the Court issued the international arrest, when they had no impediments to do so. Escaping on a private flight is a myth." .

Paraguay is the country in which the most arrests were made in 2022, with 38. It is followed by Peru (16), Spain (15) and Colombia (9).

In La Plata, two Argentines were arrested for the crime of a hotel businessman in Uruguay.

Photo: Argentine Federal Police |

PFA-Interpol

fall in qatar

Among the striking cases of Argentines is that of

, the lawyer from Jujuy accused of being part of a gang that killed an employee of a distributor, in the context of an attempted robbery in San Salvador.

He was arrested in Qatar.

He had traveled to see the first matches of the National Team.

From each arrest begins the so-called "process" or "trial" of extradition to Argentina.

It may involve months, or a year;

sometimes two.

On the day of the extradition, two Interpol Argentina agents will arrive at the destination and transfer the detainee to the local airport.

Then, they will board an empty commercial plane before the rest of the passengers.

They will occupy three seats in the back.

Diego Chacón, the lawyer from Jujuy accused of robberies who had been arrested at the World Cup in Qatar.

The policemen should even take care of cutting their food.

"

...", says one of the sources.

"They cry with joy. I remember the case of one that we went to look for in an Ethiopian prison. Imagine what a prison is in that country... I wanted to come now! One that we extradited from Mexico cried when they served him a muffin in the plane. He had been eating beans every day for a year and four months," he adds.

Some are in prisons in Europe and with the euros they earn for working inside the walls they help their families.

"They may be in 'pretty prisons' and without violence. But they miss. And here they can receive visits from their relatives," explains a 25-year-old agent at Interpol.

Of the 12 Argentines extradited last year, 5 came from Spain

.

"With Interpol Spain a lot of work is done," the detectives say.

"There are many cases of drug traffickers and thieves traveling to rob jewelry stores."

Although there are also for other crimes.

Like the missionary wanted and arrested for pyramid schemes in his province.

"He committed an economic crime and it came as calm as possible. It is not the same to transfer a guy like that to another arrested for armed robbery, homicide or for being a drug lord," he detailed.

And they cite the case of

, arrested in Portugal for robbing banks in Lisbon and with a request from Argentina for the kidnapping and disappearance of

, in 2003.

In Lisbon: Rodolfo ''Russian'' Lorhmann.

"Because of the danger of escape, you cannot transfer a criminal like this on a scheduled flight. With

(by the Colombian narco 

) we carried out a special operation: we took him out of jail by helicopter and only then did he find out about his extradition. The United States sent a special plane for his transfer," says an investigator.

​

On the list of arrests there is also a Venezuelan (in total there are three detainees from that country) found in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for an extortive kidnapping committed in Florencio Varela.

In that same country, they arrested a Colombian (in total there are seven of that nationality) who had been on the run for five years for leading a gang that offered illegal loans in different provinces of Argentina.

Always on the same list of active arrests there are three Dominicans.

One of them lived in Patagonia.

He pointed him out as the leader of an organization that sent cocaine from Buenos Aires to Comodoro Rivadavia.

He fell in Spain.

Another of the Colombians found and detained during 2022 is

.

He would be the leader of a gang that trafficked 1,600 kilos of cocaine from Rosario to Dubai.

He was surprised by Interpol agents from the United Arab Emirates.

Gabriel Londono Rojas.

In the last weeks of the year and at the beginning of 2023, the alerts sounded for three highly wanted people.

The first was 

, better known as

.

He had an international arrest warrant since May 2021, accused of being the leader of an organization that traded drugs in the south of the city.

The Government offered 5 million pesos for information on his whereabouts.

Until they found him in Lima.

He is one of 14 Peruvians captured during 2022. The country with the most detainees is Paraguay, with 36 prisoners.

The other two people required by Justice were Argentines:

, the Rosario protagonists of the wedding that ended with a triple crime.

Interpol captured them in Asunción, Paraguay, on January 5.

They are being investigated for drug trafficking.

Raúl Martín Maylli Rivera, better known as "Dumbo", the Peruvian drug trafficker who fell in his country.

Passive detentions are those executed in Argentina, at the request of foreign and national authorities.

Of the 69 cases, 16 are for robbery, 13 for homicide, 9 for sexual abuse, 7 for drug trafficking, 4 for fraud, among other crimes.

One of the most striking arrests in 2022 was in Tucumán: a 54-year-old Romanian was wanted by Interpol Spain, accused of being part of a gang dedicated to robbing ATMs using explosives.

He had come to the province through relatives of his partner.

Another followed and found for armed robberies is a Chilean who worked as a truck driver for a dairy company in the West of Greater Buenos Aires.

He required it Germany.

Miguel Ángel Vega Pérez, "El Chuma"

, is also Chilean.

They wanted him from his country, for a double crime.

He was arrested and he was sent to a police station in the City of Buenos Aires.

He fled from there on June 3.

But he was recaptured in Ciudad Evita, La Matanza, on June 30.

Esteban Rojas, the Paraguayan moneylender wanted for the femicide of his partner in Villa Zavaleta.

The Federal Investigation Division of Fugitives and Extraditions raided his home and seized weapons, a car with a request for kidnapping, and the typical tools used by "escruche" home thieves.

The list is led by Peruvians (14), Argentines (13), Paraguayans (12) and Brazilians (9).

"In each arrest it is common to receive congratulations from the requesting country," the agents clarify.

"We have to give them answers to their requests, because we expect the same for each of our fugitives. It's frustrating to know where a person is and that your partner can't find him...".

EMJ

look also

One of the narcos wanted for handling drugs in Villa 11-1-14 from Peru falls and is the nephew of the capo "Marcos"

The Argentine lawyer who was arrested during the Qatar World Cup was extradited accused of homicide