Peru's former armed forces chief Jose Villanueva Ruesta is under house arrest and strict travel restrictions, according to a police report Saturday.
Villanueva "is in Lima under house arrest and forbidden from leaving the country for 15 days," the statement said.
Police detained Villanueva, who was also commander of the army under ousted president Alberto Fujimori and a confidant of fugitive ex-secret police chief Vladimiro Montesinos, on Friday.
A team of 20 police raided a hotel near Tumbes, a city close to the border with Ecuador, and arrested Villanueva allegedly for crimes related to illegal enrichment.
The ex-military supremo, who had been under investigation by state prosecutors, had been staying at the Punta Camaron hotel, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Tumbes, with his wife and accompanied by bodyguards, according to television and radio reports.
According to media, the former military chief had arrived at Tumbes earlier in the day, after spending a few days relaxing at Chiclayo, some 780 kilometers (485 miles) north of here.
Villanueva was considered to be a confidante to Montesinos and is wanted by Peruvian authorities on arms and drug trafficking and corruption charges.
A videotape of Montesinos apparently bribing an opposition lawmaker, made public in mid-September, destabilized Fujimori's government, leading to the ex-president's ultimate ouster -- LIMA (AFP)
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