Jimena Uriarte and Alexandra Salvatierra were arrested by the Peruvian National Police’s Anti-Drug Directorate (Dirandro) while attempting to travel to Southeast Asia with cocaine and tusi (a type of 22-year-old marijuana).
Jimena Uriarte and Alexandra Salvatierra, both 22 years old, remain in Dirandro custody after being detained at Jorge Chávez International Airport with drugs hidden in their luggage. (Excélsior)
It happened in Peru. Jimena Uriarte and Alexandra Salvatierra, 22-year-old influencers, projected a dream life on their social media: modeling, luxury travel, and thousands of followers. Their latest destination was Bali.
What was promoted on social media as a luxury trip through Southeast Asia ended in Dirandro cells. Jimena Uriarte and Alexandra Salvatierra, both 22 years old and known for their work as influencers, were arrested last Sunday, January 11, at Jorge Chávez International Airport after attempting to smuggle more than three kilos of drugs out of the country.
The operation at Jorge Chávez International Airport
The intervention, carried out by agents of the Anti-Drug Directorate (Dirandro), occurred during routine checks in the boarding area. According to the official report, the young women’s nervousness alerted the officers, who inspected their checked luggage.
Pink cocaine known as ‘tusi’ or ‘tusibí’
Inside the suitcases, camouflaged in containers of beauty products and nutritional supplements, the following were found:
High-purity cocaine hydrochloride.
Tusi, or pink cocaine, a synthetic drug with a high value on the international market.
In total, the shipment exceeded 3.2 kilograms, an amount that in Asian markets such as Bali or Hong Kong could reach a value of over $250,000.
The social media facade
Uriarte and Salvatierra had thousands of followers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where they projected a life of travel, fashion, and comfort. However, preliminary investigations suggest that this lifestyle served as bait for drug trafficking organizations.
According to police sources, the young women were allegedly recruited by an international criminal network that uses influencer profiles to evade immigration risk assessments. In exchange for transporting the drugs, they were offered $10,000 each, in addition to having all their expenses in Indonesia covered.
Deadly Fate
The case has raised concerns about the young women’s ultimate fate. Countries like Indonesia are known for their zero-tolerance laws against drug trafficking, where penalties include life imprisonment and, in some cases, the death penalty by firing squad.
“It is a tragic reminder of how criminal organizations recruit vulnerable young people through the allure of digital status,” stated a spokesperson for the National Police. Legal Status
So far, the Judiciary has ordered 18 months of pretrial detention for both women while the investigation continues into the network of contacts that facilitated the shipment. If found guilty in Peru, they would face a sentence of no less than 15 years in prison.
According to official figures from the Peruvian National Police’s Anti-Drug Directorate (Dirandro), in 2024 alone, more than 32 tons of drugs were seized nationwide, of which approximately 70% were destined for markets in Asia and Europe—routes considered highly profitable for criminal organizations.
The use of young, inexperienced “human couriers” has increased. Data from the Ministry of the Interior indicates that one in five people arrested for international drug trafficking at Peruvian airports is between 18 and 25 years old.
In the specific case of Jorge Chávez International Airport, the Peruvian National Police’s Anti-Drug Directorate (Dirandro) reported more than 180 drug trafficking operations during 2023, with cocaine hydrochloride being the most frequently seized drug.
The so-called “tusi” or “pink cocaine,” despite its name, is usually a mixture of ketamine, MDMA, and other synthetic substances. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warns that its value can be up to ten times higher in Southeast Asian markets compared to its price in South America.
Indonesia maintains one of the world’s strictest anti-drug laws. According to the Indonesian Penal Code and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), trafficking more than 5 grams of cocaine can be punished with life imprisonment or the death penalty, a sanction that remains in effect in the country. As of 2022, the BNN had recorded more than 500 foreigners convicted of drug offenses, several of them from Latin America.
The 18-month pretrial detention applied in this case is based on Article 268 of the Peruvian Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows for this measure when there is a risk of flight and the potential sentence is severe.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office points out that the crime of aggravated drug trafficking carries a sentence of 15 to 25 years in prison, in addition to fines and confiscation of assets, even if the final destination of the drugs was outside the country.
Source: hoyencosumel
