Read for 2 minutes12 Jun 2026 01:07 PM IST
Police in Peru dressed up as World Cup mascots – Maple, Zayu and Clutch – to lure and arrest an alleged drug dealer on Thursday.
According to a short video shared by AFP, an officer says, “Thanks to the intelligence work done by the team, we were able to prove that the person we are going to arrest is a football fan, living and breathing World Cup fever. So we disguised him as World Cup mascots with my green team staff.”
In the visuals, the mascot is seen chasing the alleged drug dealer before catching him atop a building.
There are three mascots for the three host countries for the World Cup.
Peru will not participate in the tournament as they failed to qualify for the World Cup. They finished ninth out of 10 teams in CONMEBOL, where seven teams reached the World Cup finals. Despite the easy route to qualification, a record seven teams made it through, managing just 12 points from 18 matches, seven behind the seventh-placed team. So far in the history of the World Cup, they have reached the final five times, their last in 2018.
Their best spells came in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when players such as Tefilo Cubila helped them qualify for the tournament in 1970, 1978 and 1982, out of a possible four editions in that period. He also participated in the World Cup held in 1930.
In the 1970 edition, held in Mexico, Peru scored their best, making it to the quarterfinals, where they officially finished seventh. Eight years later, when Argentina hosted the World Cup, they again reached the quarter-finals.
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For the 2026 World Cup, three mascots represent each of the three host countries. Maple, the moose represents Canada. The zayu, the jaguar, of the jungles of southern Mexico embodies the country’s rich heritage and vibrant spirit. And finally, the clutch, the bald eagle, reflects the USA, which hosts most of the tournament’s matches.