MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Former ex-president Garcia shoots himself when police tried to arrest him

Alan García is being operated and in delicate condition

Peru’s former president Alan Garcia shot himself early on Wednesday after police arrived at his home in the capital Lima to arrest him in connection with a bribery investigation, a police source said.

Garcia was immediately taken to the Casimiro Ulloa hospital, said the source, who was not authorized to talk to the media.

Local TV channel America reported Garcia was undergoing emergency surgery and was in critical condition. It broadcast images of Garcia’s son and supporters arriving at the hospital.

Hospital staff Casimiro Ulloa leaked García's CAT scan (computerized axial tomography) of the skull :

Tomografía practicada a Alan García en el Hospital Casimiro Ulloa. pic.twitter.com/yK4QvvZWPo

— Luis Neyra (@lneyr) 17 de abril de 2019

Mr García is accused of taking bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht - claims he denies.

Officers had been sent to arrest him in connection with the allegations.

Mr García served as president from 1985 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2011.

Investigators say he took kickbacks from Odebrecht during his second term in office, linked to a metro line building project in the capital.

Odebrecht has admitted paying almost $30m (£23m) in bribes in Peru since 2004.

But Mr García says he is the victim of political persecution.

Peru's four most recent presidents are all being investigated for alleged corruption, with a fifth - Alberto Fujimori - serving a prison sentence for corruption and human rights abuses.

Ex-leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was hospitalised with high blood pressure on Wednesday just days after his own arrest in connection with Odebrecht charges.

And the current leader of the opposition, Keiko Fujimori, is also in pre-trial detention on charges of taking $1.2m (£940,000) in bribes from Odebrecht.

In October, an opinion poll by Datum showed 94% of Peruvians believed the level of corruption was either high or very high in their country.