Police say the 22-year-olds were bound for Bali with cocaine and tusi hidden in matching suitcases.
LIMA, PERU — Two Peruvian social media influencers were arrested at Jorge Chávez International Airport after anti-drug officers found more than three kilos of cocaine in their luggage as they prepared to fly to Indonesia, authorities said this week.
Police identified the women as Jimena Uriarte and Alexandra Salvatierra, both 22. The case matters now because investigators say it reflects a recruiting pattern that targets young travelers with large online followings to move drugs through Lima’s busy hub. Peru’s anti-drug directorate has opened a case and the women are being held while prosecutors review evidence from a weeklong surveillance operation, airport security video and a chemical field test that indicated cocaine. Indonesia’s severe penalties for narcotics add urgency, officers said, because the declared destination was Bali.
Investigators said the arrests followed a coordinated sting that began more than a week before the flight date. Officers with the anti-drug directorate trailed the women’s movements, documented their arrival at the terminal and monitored baggage-handling areas, according to case summaries. The women arrived at the airport with pink hard-shell suitcases that officers later opened under warrant, where packages of white powder were concealed under a false lining. “There are more people behind this organization; that is under investigation,” a spokesperson for the anti-drug unit said in comments aired by a Sunday news program. In video recorded during the intervention, one detainee confirmed she was headed to Bali as officers questioned her about the bags.
Police records describe the seized material as more than three kilos of cocaine hydrochloride and tusi, a synthetic powder sometimes called “pink drug.” A field reagent turned blue during testing, indicating cocaine, officers said. Detectives also obtained chat messages that referenced the trip itinerary and airport check-in, according to summaries shared with local media. The bags, which investigators say were not purchased by the travelers, were handed over to them already packed and were intended to be checked under their names. The anti-drug unit said it is reviewing passport stamps and financial activity to determine whether the women took prior trips for the same network. Authorities did not release a precise flight time but said the detention occurred inside the departures area before check-in was complete.
Peru is a major producer of coca leaf and a transit point for cocaine destined for overseas markets. Lima’s international airport has seen several high-profile trafficking cases in recent years, including arrests of foreigners and Peruvians attempting to smuggle drugs in luggage with double bottoms or molded inserts. The declared destination in this case, Bali, is in Indonesia, a country known for strict drug laws, including the death penalty for certain trafficking offenses. Peruvian officials said that fact underscores the stakes of the alleged attempt, even though the arrest occurred in Lima and will be prosecuted under Peruvian law. The case also follows a pattern in which recruiters finance tickets, hotel reservations and travel documents for couriers who present themselves online as lifestyle or travel creators.
Prosecutors have opened a narcotics trafficking probe and requested preventive detention as the investigation proceeds. Police said the case file includes airport video, photographs of the opened luggage and lab analyses to confirm the composition and weight of the seized powder. Officers are seeking warrants to identify suspected handlers who delivered the suitcases and coordinated transportation to the airport. Anti-drug officials said interviews and phone data extractions are underway to trace contacts who arranged tickets and accommodations. Court hearings to formalize charges are expected in the coming days, after forensic lab reports are added to the file. The women’s legal status remains that of detainees under investigation; formal indictments have not yet been announced.
Outside the terminal, travelers described a brief commotion near the airline counters as plainclothes officers escorted the women away. A security contractor who asked not to be named said the luggage stood out because the bags and clothing were the same color. In a segment aired by the investigative news program that first highlighted the case, a police investigator said th