The 38-year-old is rumored to have killed 23 people in his home country.
US media reported on Friday evening that immigration authorities arrested him on Wednesday.
The man's name is Gianfranco Torres Navarro and he is 38 years old. He leads a gang known as “Los Killers” – known for violence, extortion and murder.
Torres Navarro was reportedly arrested after Peru notified US authorities that he was wanted, Reuters reported.
The 38-year-old is known in Peruvian media as “Gianfranco 23” – a reference to the 23 people he allegedly killed.
according to AFP Were these the murders he was wanted for?
But Torres Navarro is said to have fled Peru in May after killing a retired policeman, the news agency reported.
He is said to have crossed the border from Mexico into the United States in May.
“Gianfranco Torres Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities, and we will not allow New York City to become a haven for dangerous noncitizens,” said Thomas Brophy, director of the local office of immigration authorities.
Torres Navarro's girlfriend, Michelle Sol Ivana Ortiz Obelus, was also arrested, according to the Associated Press. She is described as the gang leader's right-hand woman.