Peru police officer ordered into preventive detention for bribery

A judge in Puno, Peru, has ordered nine months of preventive detention for PNP ensign Sebastián Romero Sánchez, who is under investigation for passive bribery.

According to the Public Ministry, Romero Sánchez and two other officers intercepted an 18-year-old woman carrying $60,000 in a backpack under the guise of an identity check. The officers allegedly threatened to report her to the Money Laundering Prosecutor's Office to extort a portion of the cash. After taking some of the money, the officers reportedly abandoned the victim in a desolate area after realizing security cameras were present.

The magistrate cited serious evidence linking the officer to the crime, as well as risks of flight and obstruction of justice, as grounds for the detention.