LIMA, PERU (AFP) – Peru’s government on Tuesday sacked the South American country’s top police chief, who is being investigated over links to an alleged corruption network authorities believe was headed by ousted former Peru president Pedro Castillo.
A decree signed by Peru President Dina Boluarte said Raul Alfaro’s employment had been ‘concluded.’
Prosecutors are investigating Alfaro for his alleged links to a ‘criminal organisation’ which officials said answered to Castillo.
The former president is currently being held in pre-trial detention awaiting trial for rebellion, criminal organisation, collusion and influence peddling.
He was arrested in December and his removal after just 16 months in office sparked mass protests that have left at least 54 people dead and hundreds injured in clashes with the security forces. Alfaro’s sacking came a day after prosecutors searched his home.
He had been in charge of the police since last August, when he was appointed by Castillo.
Three police generals were arrested in December for alleged involvement in the corruption ring, and several other people in Castillo’s entourage are under investigation.
“Here there will be no impunity for the corrupt and corrupters. We are taking the necessary measures to separate the state from bad elements implicated in corruption,” said Boluarte during an official engagement.
