Inside Los Pulpos’ Airless Bunker Where a Trujillo Businessman Was Held Hostage

Jenss Lara Tantaquilla spent 36 hours in a cramped underground room built inside a home in San Isidro, Trujillo. The space had no natural ventilation, so his captors kept two oxygen cylinders there, according to images released by Peru’s National Police.

The entrance was hidden inside the property. Officers had to descend 10 concrete steps before reaching a reinforced steel door protected by a digital security code. Inside, investigators found two mattresses, bottles and containers of water, ropes, cloths and other objects that indicated the businessman had been held there.

Initial police inquiries indicate that Lara remained tied up in the room and received oxygen during his captivity because of the lack of ventilation. The chamber resembled a safe, with a metal door that made access from outside difficult. Criminalistics experts entered the property to collect fingerprints and other evidence that could identify those involved in guarding him.

Police also found items linked to the kidnapping near the San Pedro estate in the Víctor Larco Herrera district. They included police clothing, vests, helmets, boots, handcuff holders, a rifle and Lara’s identity document.

Lara was released on August 31 in an open area near the Agua El Cortijo treatment plant in Huanchaco. Investigators are working to determine who took part in the kidnapping and whether they were connected to Los Pulpos. The inquiry also reaches the structure led by Johnson Smith Cruz Torres, who was captured in La Paz, Bolivia, and later transferred to Peru. Police say communications found on phones belonging to some detainees helped identify suspected participants. Authorities are still assessing each suspect’s level of involvement and whether the same group may be linked to other crimes attributed to Los Pulpos in Trujillo.