Peru Police Dress as World Cup Mascots to Arrest Suspected Drug Trafficker

Police in Lima, Peru arrested a suspected drug trafficker on Wednesday after officers showed up to the raid dressed as 2026 World Cup mascots Clutch the Bald Eagle and Maple the Moose.

Video posted to the Peruvian police's official TikTok account showed two officers in full mascot costumes breaking through a gate with a battering ram before detaining a man at the property. Packets of white powder and a firearm were also recovered at the scene.

The officer in charge of the operation said the disguise was a deliberate tactical choice. Colonel Carlos Fredy Alcantara Obregon, head of the police's Green Squad, told the Associated Press that the suspect was known to be a passionate football fan caught up in World Cup fever, making the costumes a logical way to get close without raising the alarm.

It is not the first time Peruvian police have leaned into creative disguises during operations. On Valentine's Day last year, an officer dressed as a capybara to make an arrest in a separate drug probe. Other operations have seen officers turn up in Marvel superhero costumes.

Peru did not qualify for this year's World Cup, finishing ninth among the ten South American teams in qualifying. Their last appearance at the tournament was in 2018