Video shows police officers dressed up in Halloween costumes arresting suspected drug dealers in Lima, Peru, Reuters reports.
The officers, apparently disguised by their terrifying costumes, walked down a street and through an alley and made the arrests Thursday, video shared by Reuters shows. What appear to be cash and suspected drug packets and powder are also on display in the clip.
The officers were disguised as the villains Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and killer doll Tiffany, the Bride of Chucky. per Yahoo News. The two suspects were reportedly members of the family gang “Clan Balboa,” given to drug peddling in the neighborhood where they were arrested. The police seized 1,568 small bags of cocaine and cash, according to the outlet. (RELATED: REPORT: Mexican Cartel Expands Drug Pipelines To Alaska, Fueling Overdose Crisis)
Police in Lima used the same method in 2022 when they smashed their way into a house while dressed in The Avengers costumes and arrested a group of suspected drug dealers, per a TRT World video report on Twitter.
In Lima, police forces didn’t hesitate to dress up for Halloween, but it wasn’t for pleasure. The authorities used this as an opportunity to bust drug dealers in the capital city of Peru.
The videos were released by the National Peruvian Police Authority. pic.twitter.com/ZhKYQCI4Il
— NoComment (@nocomment) November 1, 2023
Peru is one of the world’s two biggest cocaine producers, according to The New York Times (NYT). Cocaine or its precursor, coca base, is smuggled out of Peru to Ecuador. About 80 percent of the shipping containers in which the substances are hidden escape scrutiny at the busy Ecuadorian port of Guayaquil and are shipped out to U.S. college towns and European clubhouses, per the NYT.
“People consume abroad, but they don’t understand the consequences that take place here,” Ecuadorian intelligence officer Maj. Edison Núñez told the outlet.