In a police raid led by the ‘Grinch’, three suspected drug traffickers were arrested in a police operation in Peru’s capital Lima, days before Christmas.
The Peruvian National Police released a video of the operation, conducted in the San Bartolo district, showing an officer dressed as the Grinch using a sledgehammer to break down a door. Once inside, the “Grinch” searched and found items police identified as illegal drugs and drug trafficking paraphernalia. He was also seen detaining the suspects.
Police identified the suspects as members of the “La Mafia de San Bartolo” gang. A police statement on X said, “In an ingenious operation, agents of the Green Squad arrested the aliases La Reina del Sur, La Coneja and Pote, alleged members of the La Mafia de San Bartolo gang, dedicated to drug dealing. Various narcotics were seized.”
This isn’t the first time Peruvian police have used costumes in drug raids. During Halloween last year, officers dressed as horror film characters Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Tiffany Valentine from “Child’s Play” conducted a similar raid on suspected drug dealers’ residence.
According to the State Department, Peru ranks as the world’s second-largest producer of cocaine and cultivator of coca.
“The majority of cocaine produced in Peru is transported to South American countries for domestic consumption, or for onward shipment to Europe, the United States, East Asia, and Mexico,” the State Department website said.