Police in Peru have arrested a man suspected of having ordered the killing of two 20-year-old women and a 15-year-old girl in Argentina. The three were lured to a house near the Argentine capital on September 19.
Their mutilated bodies were found several days later and police revealed that their killers had livestreamed their torture and killing on Instagram.
The brutality of the crime has sent shockwaves through the region, with thousands taking part in anti-femicide protests in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
The security minister of Buenos Aires province, Javier Alonso, stated that cousins Morena Verdi and Brenda del Castillo, both aged 20, and 15-year-old Lara Morena Gutiérrez had been tempted by an international drug gang with the promise of being paid to attend a party.
CCTV footage captured them getting into a van with fake number plates which allowed police to track them to the house where they met their fate. Their bodies were later discovered buried in the garden.
The security minister mentioned that their murder was broadcast to a closed group of 45 people, with a voice on the livestream saying 'this is what happens to those who steal drugs from me.'
In the days following the crime, Argentine police arrested seven suspects, including the man suspected of digging the grave and others involved in transporting the victims to the crime scene. However, the main suspect, Tony Janzen Valverde Victoriano, had managed to evade capture.
Valverde was finally detained by police on a motorway south of Lima, hidden in a van transporting fish. Also apprehended was 28-year-old Matías Ozorio, believed to be Valverde's right-hand man, who is expected to be extradited to Argentina.
The investigations continue, with intercepted communications providing vital information to authorities, as Argentina's security minister lauds the work of Peruvian police in detaining the suspects.
