• 'Santa' and his helpers undertake an unusual drug bust in Peru

    International
    'Santa' and his helpers undertake an unusual drug bust in Peru

    In Peru, one kilogram of cocaine paste costs around $380, and one kilogram of cocaine powder, the purest form, costs around $1,000...


    Digital Desk: It was indeed a Christmas surprise for a gang of drug dealers when Santa and a bunch of elves paid them a visit in Peru. However, things took a bad turn when they broke down their door, handcuffed them, and grabbed their belongings.


    The unusual bust revealed Monday involved agents disguised as Santa and his little helpers who entered a dangerous Lima neighbourhood called Surquillo on Saturday, according to police spokesman David Villanueva.


    "Being Christmas, a Santa in the street does not attract much notice, and we used this to our advantage for this operation," Villanueva said.


    Reportedly, they took a stroll down a street and suddenly stopped at a house. The group forced their way inside after one of the "elves" bashed down the front door with a large hammer.


    The drug dealers were told to stop moving and to lie down on the ground. However, the suspects, three males, and a woman did not take it seriously and assumed they were being pranked, said Villanueva.


    The bust was ironically titled "The Fall of the Chicago Grinch," after the fictional green monster who stole Christmas and Surquillo's moniker "Little Chicago," a clear reference to the vicious gangs who ran the American city in the 1920s.


    The police reported that they had seized 279 marijuana, 104 cocaine powder, and almost 6,000 tiny packets of cocaine paste.


    In Peru, one kilogram of cocaine paste costs around $380, and one kilogram of cocaine powder, the purest form, costs around $1,000.


    Peru, along with Colombia and Bolivia, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of cocaine.\