Police disguise as Santa, elves to bust drug suspects in Peru

MANILA, Philippines — Santa and his elves gave four individuals in Lima, Peru a Christmas surprise they will never forget — one behind bars. 

Peruvian police once again got creative in dealing with drug suspects as they went walking in the season's style as Santa and his elves in a neighborhood in the capital city. 

"It being Christmas, a Santa in the street does not attract much attention, and we used this to our advantage for this operation," said police official David Villanueva to a Peruvian TV. 

The suspects were caught surprised and initially thought that it was a joke, just like what happened in another bust operation in November. 

Police nabbed 6,000 small packets of cocaine paste, 104 of cocaine powder and 279 of marijuana. 

Last Halloween, the Peruvian police conducted drug bust in another neighborhood in Lima. 

Dubbed "Operation Marvel," police were dressed as Marvel superheroes Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor and the Black Widow and seized 3,250 small packages of basic cocaine paste — a crude extract of coca leaf — as well as 287 bags of cocaine and 127 of marijuana. 

One kilogram of cocaine paste sells for about $380 in Peru and a kilo of powder, the purest form, for about $1,000.

Peru is said to be one of the world's biggest cocaine producers, alongside Colombia and Bolivia — With reports from AFP. 

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