THIS is the bizarre moment cops dressed as Power Rangers arrested a suspected phone snatcher in the middle of a carnival.
Cops mingled with other revellers wearing costumes of comic characters including Robin and Batman to catch the suspect.
Footage shows around half a dozen officers pinning him to the ground near Ibirapuera Park in the city of São Paulo.
They found seven mobile phones on the guy, which he stole along with his accomplice.
The officers then took him away and placed him in a patrol car before driving him to the nearby station for formal identification and fingerprinting.
They are now trying to track down another man understood to be his accomplice who managed to flee before he could be held.
Guilherme Derritte, from Sao Paulo state’s Public Security Ministry, commented: “This individual didn’t expect the support of our Civil Police, Power Rangers, and military police officers working together in a remarkable team effort.
“The carnival cry became the cry of relief of a population that can no longer stand impunity.
“Another one handed over to the courts and seven mobile phones recovered.”
This is the second year Undercover cops wearing fancy dress have been used to identify and apprehend criminals targeting carnival-goers.
Officials said nearly 900 mobile phones were stolen during pre-carnival events in the Brazilian state last weekend.
On Valentine’s Day, a Peruvian police officer dressed as a capybara carried out a drugs raid.
Video footage showed the giant rodent swooping on a suspected drugs trafficker in the southern American country’s capital city Lima.
He was seen barging into the house, tackling the man to the ground and putting him in handcuffs.
During the raid, more than 1,700 packages of cocaine and marijuana were found.
The bizarre clip ended with the capybara posing for the photo with the suspect and the mounds of drugs laid out on a table.
The operation was conducted by Peru’s Escuadron Verde, a specialized anti-drugs unit known for dressing up their officers in costumes for celebrations like Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Christmas.”
They have previously donned Spiderman, Captain America, Thor and Black Widow costumes to carry out drugs raids.
