Woman found dead in Peruvian prison cell

Police have raided a prison in Lima, Peru after a woman's body was found in the cell of a Dutch inmate. Video provided by the police department showed scores of armed officers spreading out across the roof the San Juan de Lurigancho prison and searching cells in bathrooms in the notoriously lawless penitentiary.

Officers searched cells, bathrooms and shook down inmates, later showing off a cache of knives, machetes, cell phones and other objects they confiscated from the prison. Local news websites report that drugs and weapons enter the prison freely and government officials pledged another 150 officers to get the prison under control.

Peru's Interior Minister Miguel Hidalgo said the idea was to improve security. "What we have is the presence of two government ministers. The justice minister and the interior minister are involved in the issue. They are involved in the administration of the prisons and we are involved in issues of security. We are here with the police to implement, improve and reinforce security," Hidalgo said.



The raid was touched off by the discovery of the body of 22-year-old Leslie Paredes, found in the cell of her boyfriend, 32-year-old Dutch inmate Jason Sanford Staling Conquet. Local news outlets reported Staling Conquet, who is doing time for drug trafficking, fought with Paredes in October when she wanted to end the relationship. She went missing until her body was discovered Monday in the Dutch inmate's cell.