Peruvian authorities are investigating 18 counter-drugs police working in the coca growing Apurimac and Ene river valleys for drug trafficking, according to daily La Republica.
The cases cover a period between 2009 and this year, and include a major and two captains who are being investigated for collaboration and contact with drug traffickers.
In addition, allegations against some of the police officers are that they seized drugs from traffickers and later resold it.
The VRAE, which covers the Apurimac and Ene valleys, is one of Peru’s top coca growing regions and home to remnants of the Maoist Shining Path insurgency.
Police and soldiers in the VRAE are regularly targeted in deadly attacks by drug traffickers.
While the VRAE is one of the country’s top drug producing regions, the allure of drug money has corrupted authorities throughout the country. According to the report, there are three cases of police profiting from the drug trade in Lima, three in the jungle city of Iquitos, two in southern Puno, and one in both Arequipa and Piura.
