(Lima) A team of Peruvian police officers, one of whom was dressed as Santa Claus to go “unnoticed”, carried out an operation against a gang of drug dealers in a town north of Lima, authorities reported on Saturday.
These agents managed to surprise two men selling crack and marijuana in a house in Huaral, about 70 kilometers from the Peruvian capital, according to images and official press releases released on Saturday.
“A member of the Terna (police) Group dressed up as Santa Claus to go unnoticed in this dangerous neighborhood,” Colonel Walter Palomino, head of the Green Squadron of the Peruvian National Police, told the press on Saturday.
“This strategy was successful,” the officer added.
The police officer, who had dressed in the traditional Santa Claus costume, took it upon himself to break down the door of the house and arrest one of the suspects.
During the operation, two men were arrested and hundreds of packages of crack and marijuana, the value of which has not yet been determined by the authorities, were seized.
One of those arrested was presented to the press under the pseudonym “The Grinch”, the name of a popular fictional character in an American animated film.
For some time now, Peruvian police have been regularly attacking suspected criminals using disguises and carrying out operations that they launch on special dates.
Thus, on October 31, a similar operation was carried out on the occasion of Halloween, also against drug traffickers.
Drug trafficking is one of the crimes that has grown the most in Peru in recent years.