Peruvian cops dressed as Santa raid cocaine operation

(NY Daily News) A squad of Peruvian police dressed as Santa Claus busted a drug operation in Lima, recovering over 4,500 parcels of cocaine.

In Reuters video footage posted Tuesday, an anti-narcotics officer heaves a sledgehammer into the front entrance of a suspected drug house in the city’s Comas district.

“He breaks down the door because he has judicial authorization, so that makes it easier for us to be able to raid, quickly penetrate that property and be able to arrest the people inside,” said Colonel Jorge Luis Angulo of the “green squad” in charge of the raid.

Other officers pulled guns from their costumes before entering the building. Angulo said the Santa disguises offer the squad increased swiftness and the element of surprise.

Four arrests were made, all said to be related members of the ‘Pinto’ clan. An estimated 4,564 wrappings of cocaine were confiscated.

Authorities suspect the building was used for distributing drugs to gang operations and addicts in the area.

The footage ends with officers, dressed head to toe in smiling Santa outfits, escorting handcuffed suspects into police vehicles.