A Peruvian police squad used an agent dressed as Father Christmas to infiltrate an unsafe neighborhood outside Lima and bust a small drug ring, authorities said on Saturday.
The undercover operation led to the arrest of two men selling forms of cocaine and marijuana in a house in Huaral, about 70km north of the Peruvian capital.
Agents “disguised themselves as Santa Claus to go unnoticed in this dangerous neighborhood,” said Colonel Walter Palomino, head of the National Police Green Squadron.
Photo: Reuters
“The strategy was successful. Christmas came to the Evil Reindeer,” he said, using a seasonal nickname for the illicit gang.
CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
An officer disguised as the white-bearded figure from the North Pole broke down a house door with a large sledgehammer and arrested one of the suspects.
Instead of offering jolly cheer, Santa and his helpers arrested two men and seized hundreds of packets of cocaine paste and marijuana, said police, who have yet to announce a specific amount or value of the drugs.
One of those captured was presented to the media under an alias: “The Grinch,” after a fictional character created by US children’s author Dr Seuss.
POLICE TRADITION
For years, police in the South American nation — one of the world’s biggest cocaine producers — have been using disguises during anti-drug operations launched on special dates.
On Oct. 31, police dressed up as horror characters for Halloween and arrested two alleged members of the Balboa clan, a drug gang.
Last year before Christmas, police in Lima dressed as Santa and his elves conducted a similar operation, arresting four suspects and seizing 6,000 packets of cocaine paste.
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