Maple the Moose and Clutch the Bald Eagle led the operation. Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty ImagesJune 13, 2026 12:33 am EDT Updated Police in Lima, Peru, are going viral after conducting a drug raid while dressed as FIFA World Cup mascots on Wednesday.Video footage of the raid shows officers wearing suits of mascots Maple the Moose and Clutch the Bald Eagle while smashing through a metal gate with a battering ram. Once inside, they handcuffed a suspected trafficker and uncovered bags of weapons and unidentified drugs. Zayu the Jaguar did not make an appearance.
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Despite two officers losing their giant, felt heads on the way in, everything went as planned, Peruvian National Police colonel Carlos Fredy Alcántara Obregón told the Associated Press.“Thanks to the intelligence work carried out by the team, we were able to establish that the person we were about to arrest was a die-hard football fan, living and breathing the World Cup fever,” Obregón said. “So we proceeded to disguise my Green Squad personnel as World Cup mascots in order to approach him without arousing suspicion and make the arrest.”Lima’s Green Squad has previously made headlines for its costumed raids. A 2025 Valentine’s Day mission involved officers wearing capybara outfits, while a Halloween one saw the team dress in Marvel superhero outfits. The team’s official purpose is to combat “micro-trafficking” and other low-level drug crimes in the city.Police have not named the suspect, who appeared in other videos walking handcuffed down the street with Maple and Clutch, mascot heads back in place. The agency’s social media posts identified the man as a suspected gang member.Jun 13, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
