The Public Ministry (Prosecutor's Office) on Thursday reported that Lupe Zevallos Gonzales, sentenced to 25 years in prison for money laundering, was captured in Lima's San Borja district to serve her sentence in a Peruvian penitentiary.
Zevallos Gonzales had been a fugitive from justice since February 25, 2019, when she was convicted by Collegiate E of the Specialized Court for Organized Crime and Corruption of Officials alongside her brother, Fernando Zevallos Gonzales, in the Aerocontinente case.
According to the prosecution, the Zevallos family allegedly attempted to legitimize illicit profits obtained through drug trafficking by establishing companies such as the airline Aerocontinente and others linked to it.
Lupe Zevallos, a former executive of the airline, left the Judiciary's courtroom minutes before she was sentenced to 25 years in prison for money laundering.
Her brother Fernando Zevallos, the former owner of Aerocontinente, was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
He had previously been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for drug trafficking after being found guilty of smuggling drugs out of the country on aircraft belonging to his airline.
The National Coordination of Specialized Prosecutors' Offices for Organized Crime has not yet provided details about the arrest.
In July 2019, the former executive of the defunct airline Aerocontinente was added to the Interior Ministry’s Rewards Program after becoming a fugitive from justice.
Authorities offered a reward worth S/100,000 (about US$29,291) for information leading to the capture of Lupe Zevallos.
Lupe Zevallos was transferred by police from San Borja to the Criminal Investigation Directorate (Dirincri) headquarters, also in Lima.
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