As the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America builds momentum, Peruvian police have drawn attention with an unusual operation in which they disguised themselves as World Cup mascots to arrest a drug trafficking suspect.
According to the Associated Press and other outlets on Tuesday, Peruvian police recently raided a house in the capital, Lima, while wearing World Cup mascot costumes and arrested Carlos Cabrera, a 48-year-old man suspected of drug trafficking.
Footage released by Peruvian police showed two officers dressed as the World Cup mascots — Clutch, the American bald eagle, and Maple, the moose symbolizing Canada. They broke down an iron door with a metal hammer before entering the house and apprehending the suspect.
The operation was timed to coincide with the World Cup opening match between Mexico and South Africa. Police seized 2,524 bags of cocaine and one handgun at the scene.
Colonel Carlos Alcantara of the Peruvian police crime crackdown unit "Green Squad" told the Associated Press, "Through intelligence activities, we learned that the suspect was an avid soccer fan with great interest in the World Cup." He explained, "To avoid suspicion and approach naturally, we disguised our agents as World Cup mascots."
The mascots featured in the operation are characters that FIFA unveiled to mark the joint hosting by North and Central American nations. Clutch is the bald eagle symbolizing the United States, Maple is the moose, a large deer representing Canada, and Zayu is the jaguar symbolizing Mexico.
FIFA describes Clutch as "a leader-type character who turns challenges into opportunities" and Maple as "an artist who loves street fashion."
In fact, this is not the first time Peruvian police have carried out a disguise operation. To lower criminals' guard, police have previously conducted arrest operations dressed as Santa Claus during the Christmas season, Freddy Krueger or the Grinch on Halloween, and recently as movie characters such as Deadpool and Wolverine.
Local media reported that it was "an ingenious operation that even harnessed World Cup fever for investigation," adding that "Peruvian police's unique tradition of disguise operations has once again become a talking point."
