Police dress up as World Cup mascots to carry out drug sting

Two Peruvian police officers disguised as World Cup mascots Clutch and Maple helped to arrest a suspected drug dealer in Lima, the latest in a series of law enforcement operations in the country involving officers using creative costumes to apprehend accused criminals.

Col. Carlos Alcántara, head of the Green Squadron — a unit that combats common crime — said they captured Carlos Cabrera, 48, with the help of the two undercover agents on Thursday during the opening match of the World Cup between Mexico and South Africa.

“Thanks to intelligence work, we realized that this person was a diehard football fan and was caught up in World Cup fever,” Alcántara told The Associated Press. “Therefore, we decided to disguise personnel as World Cup mascots so we could approach him without raising suspicion and apprehend him.”

The officers in mascot costumes used a metal sledgehammer to break down a door to enter with colleagues. Police posted video of the raid on social media, showing officers collecting evidence at the scene and apprehending the suspect.

For the World Cup, Clutch is a bald eagle representing the United States, while Maple is a moose representing Canada. México is symbolized by a jaguar named Zayu.

Police said 2,524 packets of cocaine base and a gun were found during the operation. In Perú, the micro-trafficking of drugs is punishable by three to seven years in prison when a person is found with 5 to 50 grams of cocaine base.

In previous operations, Peruvian police have disguised themselves as other fictional movie characters such as the Grinch, Freddy Krueger, Deadpool and Wolverine and even Santa Claus to approach those they are going to arrest without arousing suspicion.

In 2024, Peruvian police dressed an officer in a bear costume on the eve of Valentine’s Day and armed him with balloons and gifts to coax a female drug suspect from her home.