Peruvian police disguised themselves as Santa Claus and his elves to go unnoticed in a district of Lima and intervene there to arrest four suspected drug traffickers, police said Monday.
The operation took place on Saturday and began when the disguised policemen walked through the streets of the Surquillo neighborhood. Some areas of this neighborhood are nicknamed “Chicago Chicago” due to their insecurity, alluding to the violent gangs that operated in the American city of Chicago in the 1920s.
“It is Christmas and having a Santa Claus on the street does not attract attention. That is what we took advantage of to carry out the intervention,” said Colonel David Villanueva, of the National Police.
Seized cocaine and marijuana
Arriving in front of a house, a Santa’s helper, dressed in a red suit with white trim, took a ram and broke down the wooden door of a house. She was a policewoman. She and her colleagues ran in, according to footage released by police. Instead of “Merry Christmas”, the criminals heard: “Police! Not a move!”
The footage shows Santa arresting one of the inmates inside the house. In total, three men and one woman were arrested. They initially thought it was a prank, police said.
The operation led to the seizure of six thousand packets of base paste, 104 bags of cocaine and 279 bags of marijuana hidden in the house.
Peru is considered one of the largest cocaine producers in the world, along with Colombia and Bolivia.
Source: BFM TV
