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Peru Captures ‘El Químico’ at Lima Airport as U.S. Seeks Extradition

Authorities say the Colombian technician hid cocaine by chemically embedding it in everyday goods to evade detection.

Overview

  • DIRANDRO detained Edison Romero Parga on Dec. 22 at Jorge Chávez International Airport as he returned from Spain, and he remains in custody.
  • He was formally notified that a Puerto Rico court has requested his extradition to face narcotrafficking charges, with legal proceedings pending.
  • Investigators report he ran clandestine labs that converted cocaine into rigid or flexible resins integrated into tiles, sneaker soles, turntables, and synthetic wood to defeat scanners, reagents, and detection dogs.
  • Travel records indicate more than 65 international trips and operations touching France, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and El Salvador, with his targeting linked to a $300 million synthetic-wood cocaine seizure that elevated him as a DEA priority.
  • DIRANDRO asserts his brother is already imprisoned for similar offenses and alleges the father’s involvement, as probes examine a possible family-based network.