Peruvian cop dressed as Santa Claus busts local cocaine and marijuana drug dealers

The ‘Evil reindeers’ are no more in Peru. 

A pair of drug dealers were arrested after they were busted for dealing cocaine and marijuana out of a home in Lima by an undercover police officer dressed as Santa Claus. 

Footage released by the Peru National Police showed a crime-fighting Saint Nick knocking down the residence door with a sledgehammer just a few days before Christmas. 

His partners from a special unit, known as the Green Squad, could be seen in the background climbing up a ladder to the second floor to prevent the dealers from escaping. 

The cop lost his bearded mask as he pounded the heavily secured metal door about five times before they were able to enter the residence. 

A member of the Peruvian police's Green Squad donned a Santa Claus costume during an operation last week that led to the arrest of two men who were allegedly selling cocaine and marijuana 

A police officer in Lima, Peru dressed as Santa Claus during an operation last week that resulted in the arrests of two suspects. The defendants had been under surveillance and sold drugs to undercover cops three times

The suspects, Luis Córdoba, 25, and Jhordan Carhuachín, 32, had been under surveillance for and sold drugs to undercover cops at least three times last week.

Both men had prior arrests for armed robbery. 

Authorities recovered 600 packages containing cocaine paste - a crude extract of the coca leaf - 150 bags stuffed with marijuana and 30 bags of cocaine. 

It’s not the first time police officers in Peru have traded in their uniforms for costumes in their fight against drug dealers. 

Cops donning Thor, Spiderman, Captain America and the Black Widow outfits during a November 2022 raid that resulted in the arrests of four members of a neighborhood drug gang in Lima. 

The suspects, three men and a woman, initially thought it was all a joke to see Santa bust into thier operation. 

Police found 3,500 packages of cocaine paste, 287 bags of cocaine and 127 that were filled with marijuana during a search. 

A police officer in Peru wore a Santa Claus costume while raiding a home in Lima 

The cops were able to seize 600 packages containing cocaine paste - a crude extract of the coca leaf - 150 bags stuffed with marijuana and 30 bags of cocaine

Jhordan Carhuachín (left) and Luis Córdoba (right) were arrested during a recent police operation in Lima, Peru. The suspects were allegedly selling marijuana and cocaine from a home

Peru is considered one the world's largest producers of coca leaf and cocaine, according to the United Nations. 

A government report released in June found the land used for the purpose of growing coca leaves increased by 18 percent in 2022. Most the cultivation took place in protected lands and indigenous Amazon villages close to the borders with Brazil and Colombia. 

Coca leaves have traditionally been chewed for energy or as an antidote for altitude sickness and is legal for such uses.

But analysts and government officials estimate that at least 90 percent of the South American country's crop is used in the illicit drug trade and its cultivation has been growing yearly since 2015.