Trujillo (Peru) (AFP) – In April this year, a criminal gang demanded $2,500 from Peruvian school owner Diomedes Sanchez, before planting a bomb outside the building when he refused to pay. The 50-year-old is one of many hit by an extortion epidemic targeting both the rich and poor across the country, with an association representing businesses claiming an estimated cost of $1.6 billion per year.