Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A huge tunnel dug into prison to free powerful crime kingpin; shines light on little known organized crime group. A 650-foot long tunnel burrowed under the walls of a high-security prison was discovered in Peru this week — and that's not even the most interesting part. Let me tell you about it.
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The Mob Reporter here with news of a stunning feat of underworld infrastructure linked to one of the most successful global kingpins.
The tunnel in Lima, Peru, stretched more than 200-metres long about 10-metres underground, was high enough to stand upright in — and was well on its way to making it to the prison’s dining hall, where inmates eat their meals. The tunnel was rough hewn and supported with wooden beams. It required a significant construction crew and technical engineering.
The entrance was in a block of homes and well camouflaged. The earth they extracted as they dug was carted away by truck at night. Police say events forced the tunnel to be built in two stages.
The tunnel has been linked to a shadowy international criminal organization known as Group America. That link is this man: Zoran Jakšić, a 60-year-old Serbian kingpin. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project has been documenting Group America for years, tracking its activities through countries and across continents. Here’s a link to their reporting: occrp.org/en/group-america
With their roots in the Balkans and business around the world, including an alleged boss living in New York, the members of Group America have weathered a flurry of international police operations over years: In Italy, the United States, Britain, Greece, South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Serbia, Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, Croatia, Australia and Austria among them.
Now this is what ties the story of Group America to the prison tunnel. In 2016, police in Peru stumbled onto a trafficking plot and it turned out to feature Jakšić and others. By the time it was wrapped up, police were calling it a Mega-Operation using the codename of the Spanish word for Swallows, after the little birds, but when they arrive to arrest Jakšić, he’d already flown the coop. Three months later he was finally captured trying to cross the border into Ecuador.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Here he is appearing in court in Peru, as shown on Justicia TV. Here is a link to the full video: youtube.com/watch?v=jZQo7zKbdME&feature=emb_title
Jakšić was placed in Miguel Castro Castro Prison in Lima. He was housed in the pavilion where the tunnel’s trajectory would have taken it. In February 2019, he and a Mexican colleague were suddenly transferred out of the prison that was built adjacent to a bustling urban sprawl, to a maximum-security facility further north after an escape plot was uncovered. Peru’s penitentiary director said the tunnel was originally started to free Jakšić and construction stopped when they were transferred. But the tunnel head was never found.
Last month, officials learned tunnel excavation resumed and a search in the vicinity around the prison intensified. They discovered the source on Dec. 7, 2020.
Ground penetrating radar is being used to trace the tunnel and ensure it did not breach into the prison property. An investigation is underway. The government has promised a review, not only of this tunneling effort but of all high-security prisons where high-value prisoners are being held. May I humbly suggest they start with the prison where Jakšić is now staying.
~ The Mob Reporter is a professional journalist bringing you real-life mob, police and true crime news and educational videos.
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• Crime Watch: youtube.com/CrimeWatchWorld
• Crime in Italy: youtube.com/channel/UC-RAffGKnxExn8kXmeRdRsg
~ To read my written journalism in the National Post, visit: news.nationalpost.com/author/ahumphreys
~ For more information, visit http://www.adrianhumphreys.com.
Please like, share, comment and subscribe.
Thanks for watching!
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Please watch: "Italian Mafia boss visiting Canada accidentally brought police wiretap to all his meetings": youtu.be/lhSL0JzQJYc
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
A huge tunnel dug into prison to free powerful crime kingpin; shines light on little known organized crime group. A 650-foot long tunnel burrowed under the walls of a high-security prison was discovered in Peru this week — and that's not even the most interesting part. Let me tell you about it.
CHECK OUT MY BONUS CONTENT AND OTHER PERKS ON PATREON: patreon.com/TheMobReporter
The Mob Reporter here with news of a stunning feat of underworld infrastructure linked to one of the most successful global kingpins.
The tunnel in Lima, Peru, stretched more than 200-metres long about 10-metres underground, was high enough to stand upright in — and was well on its way to making it to the prison’s dining hall, where inmates eat their meals. The tunnel was rough hewn and supported with wooden beams. It required a significant construction crew and technical engineering.
The entrance was in a block of homes and well camouflaged. The earth they extracted as they dug was carted away by truck at night. Police say events forced the tunnel to be built in two stages.
The tunnel has been linked to a shadowy international criminal organization known as Group America. That link is this man: Zoran Jakšić, a 60-year-old Serbian kingpin. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project has been documenting Group America for years, tracking its activities through countries and across continents. Here’s a link to their reporting: occrp.org/en/group-america
With their roots in the Balkans and business around the world, including an alleged boss living in New York, the members of Group America have weathered a flurry of international police operations over years: In Italy, the United States, Britain, Greece, South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Serbia, Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, Croatia, Australia and Austria among them.
Now this is what ties the story of Group America to the prison tunnel. In 2016, police in Peru stumbled onto a trafficking plot and it turned out to feature Jakšić and others. By the time it was wrapped up, police were calling it a Mega-Operation using the codename of the Spanish word for Swallows, after the little birds, but when they arrive to arrest Jakšić, he’d already flown the coop. Three months later he was finally captured trying to cross the border into Ecuador.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Here he is appearing in court in Peru, as shown on Justicia TV. Here is a link to the full video: youtube.com/watch?v=jZQo7zKbdME&feature=emb_title
Jakšić was placed in Miguel Castro Castro Prison in Lima. He was housed in the pavilion where the tunnel’s trajectory would have taken it. In February 2019, he and a Mexican colleague were suddenly transferred out of the prison that was built adjacent to a bustling urban sprawl, to a maximum-security facility further north after an escape plot was uncovered. Peru’s penitentiary director said the tunnel was originally started to free Jakšić and construction stopped when they were transferred. But the tunnel head was never found.
Last month, officials learned tunnel excavation resumed and a search in the vicinity around the prison intensified. They discovered the source on Dec. 7, 2020.
Ground penetrating radar is being used to trace the tunnel and ensure it did not breach into the prison property. An investigation is underway. The government has promised a review, not only of this tunneling effort but of all high-security prisons where high-value prisoners are being held. May I humbly suggest they start with the prison where Jakšić is now staying.
~ The Mob Reporter is a professional journalist bringing you real-life mob, police and true crime news and educational videos.
~ PLEASE SUBSCRIBE: youtube.com/user/themobreporter?sub_confirmation=1
~ Please subscribe to my other channels:
• Crime Watch: youtube.com/CrimeWatchWorld
• Crime in Italy: youtube.com/channel/UC-RAffGKnxExn8kXmeRdRsg
~ To read my written journalism in the National Post, visit: news.nationalpost.com/author/ahumphreys
~ For more information, visit http://www.adrianhumphreys.com.
Please like, share, comment and subscribe.
Thanks for watching!
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Please watch: "Italian Mafia boss visiting Canada accidentally brought police wiretap to all his meetings": youtu.be/lhSL0JzQJYc
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
