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Santa Claus and his little helpers broke down a drug dealer’s door and took on a gang in Peru in a major criminal operation.

Police officers dressed as Santa Claus and his elves chose to smash the front door rather than climb down the chimney to do the drug check.

Footage from The Case of the Chicago Grinch in Surquillo, Lima, showed the festive agents, complete with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and elves, storming into the house.

Mrs. Clause is seen with a large hammer, which she then swings at the house to enter.

A tight stocking was even nailed to the wooden door before officers knocked it down.

The Christmas crew, along with other uniformed officers, enter the house and tell the residents to freeze and lie down on the floor.

One of the elves pins a man to the ground while tying his hands behind his back.

Police officer David Villanueva told Peruvian television: “Because it’s Christmas, a Santa in the street doesn’t attract much attention and we’ve used that to our advantage for this operation.”

Santa and his wife, Mrs. Clause, approached the front door and brandished a hammer (Image: Reuters)

Grave - Police officers dress up in Christmas costumes to catch a suspected drug clan

Elves helped pin the suspects to the ground to arrest them (Photo: Reuters)

He added that the suspects, three men and a woman, initially thought it was a prank.

The group named their bust “The Fall of the Chicago Grinch” after the festive green monster who stole Christmas and Surquillo’s nickname “Little Chicago” due to gangs in the city.

They successfully seized 6,000 packs of cocaine paste, 104 packs of mint powder and 279 packs of marijuana.

Handout photo released by the National Police of Peru on December 19, 2022, showing four suspected cocaine sellers being arrested while being escorted by undercover Peruvian police officers (R and L) on December 17, 2022 in a commercial district in Lima, Peru . - A drug gang dealer in Peru was horribly surprised when police officers dressed as Santa Claus, the white-bearded figure of the Arctic, and several of his accomplices broke down their door in the unsafe neighborhood of Surquillo, handcuffed them, and seized their goods in an unusual arrest. (Photo by Handout/POLICIA NACIONAL DEL PERU/AFP) (Photo by HANDOUT/POLICIA NACIONAL DEL PERU/AFP via Getty Images)

They managed to seize 6,000 packs of cocaine paste and 104 packs of cocaine powder (Photo: Handout / Policia Nacional del Peru / AFP)

It is not the first time that the same police force has used costumes during arrests.

In November, police “dressed up” as miraculous figures to bust a drug ring.

Hoping to be mistaken for the Children’s Art School, they used their disguises to blend in with their surroundings.

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