More than 200 taxi drivers from Jorge Chavez Airport reported robbery, rape, murder and kidnapping | lime

A few hours before the publication of this report, a team from El Comercio was threatened by a group of taxi drivers from Jorge Chavez Airport when they covered information of wide interest, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ and a network of taxi drivers operating between the international landings' automated exit gates and the parking lot.

The harassment they offer their services is only the tip of the iceberg that these taxi drivers' unions hide: these unions act as repositories of criminals, hiding behind the facade of public limited companies that provide them with legal recognition. Record serious and even worse precursors.

The story is like this: in 2023, several cases were revealed where many passengers affected by the regulations arrived in Lima by plane, took a taxi to their homes, hotels or rental properties, and were assaulted when they reached their destination, mainly in districts such as San Isidro and Miraflores. Police found evidence of motorized vehicles following them all the way from the airport. Based on these complaints, El Comercio published a report detailing the activities of these thieves.

The next step was to look for companies and faces controlling the taxi supply at Salako Terminal, which is known for picking up passengers as soon as the automatic landing door opens. To do this, criminal and police records were searched, along with information from the Ministry of Public Affairs, the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE), the National Registry of Prisoners (Renadesple) and Sucamec.

A total of 201 of these airport taxi drivers have been booked by the police for robbery, rape, murder, drug smuggling, kidnapping, abetting minors, abandoning the victim, drunken driving and making explosives. Other dangerous substances. In other words, one in four taxi drivers have complaints.

Of those total, 143 taxi drivers have filed cases with the prosecutor's office for the same crimes.

The most dangerous thing in this situation is that the managers or legal representatives of these associations also have a serious record. Of the 28 people who lead companies or associations and are monitored by Occitan, 18 have serious records of fraud, embezzlement, rape, domestic violence, aggravated robbery, illegal drug trafficking, kidnapping and culpable homicide. Five of these 18 have served prison terms.

That is, taxi drivers and their representatives are in a similar legal situation. These taxi drivers associations do not hire their drivers for free. They do this by paying for “entitlements” that the union supposedly owns, a quota fee disguised as a formality. In fact, there have been cases where independent taxi drivers have decided to enter on their own and have been threatened or assaulted by members of associated unions.

This airport mafia has found the perfect way to enter the airport without paying and stay longer on the expressway, which is only a few minutes away from picking up passengers: exchanging 'roulette' tickets with other drivers or staying longer.

LAP replies: “It's a public place.”

Faced with these revelations, Lima Airport Partners (LAP), the airport's concessionaire, told El Comercio about the powers these taxi drivers have to take over the parking lot.

“Within the framework of the concession agreement, Lima Airport Partners (LAB), as the operator of the Jorge Chavez International Airport, conducted commercial competitions to provide operating spaces to provide taxi service to national and international passengers. Nowadays, Independent taxi drivers offer their services loudly, try to convince passengers to leave the terminal, charge more than the authorized service, and cause inconvenience and hassle to a great extent. It disrupts its movement and transmits a lot of disturbance and insecurity to the tourists. In conclusion, the first impression visitors to the country get is one of harassment and disorder.“LAP told El Comercio.

But the merchant agreed to it “Since any citizen is free to stand in this area and offer their taxi services, since it is a public place, the impunity they maintain is protected”.

In response to this situation, at the request of the LAP, Ositrán issued new regulations for the use of parking spaces with the aim of improving the system in the area. These rules require taxi drivers to drop off passengers only in the free lane.

Later, in a dialogue process promoted by Ositrán, working groups were formed with taxi representatives to put limits on the activities of these drivers who harass passengers. That dialog is dead. LAP claims to have formally informed Ositrán, as an intermediary in negotiations, “of the final decision to stop working with taxi companies due to the high number of drivers with criminal records.”

On the other hand, LAP has signed contracts with the Urban Transport Authority (ATU) to support its inspection work, as well as contracts with the PNP to support the imposition of financial sanctions on taxi drivers who fail to comply with current regulations.

emerged

Over the years, various users of the airport have noticed for months the reduction of police officers at the entrance of the airport asking for identification, DNI, license and, if applicable, blocking the passage of holders of requests. Countering this, the LAP claims to have reduced police personnel to avoid delays to commuters.

“Due to the epidemic, many interventions were suspended. Also, the change was due to the lack of resources, personnel and the delay caused by this review in the entry of passengers. However, the procedure was resumed from February this year and depends on the availability of the PNP. As LAP we demand presence of authority for the safety of our passengers. and that all workers of Jorge Chavez shall be provided with all necessary facilities to perform their respective functions,” LAP holds.

Owners of Javier Prado