Ecuador Police Seize 1,000 Pounds of Cocaine Marked With Haaland Stickers

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 13

370 cocaine packages weighing just over 1,000 pounds were pulled from a false-bottom truck bed on Ecuador’s Pan-American Highway, and police detained the driver.
Anti-narcotics agents said the bricks carried stickers of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, a marking traffickers often use to identify criminal networks or intended clients.
An earlier police account put the haul at about 350 packages worth more than $11 million near the Colombian border, underscoring Ecuador’s role as a trafficking route to the US and Europe.
Haaland joins other stars such as Lionel Messi whose images have appeared on drug packaging, reflecting how cartels use celebrity branding in illicit shipments.

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Fox News7d ago

Ecuador Police Seize Cocaine with Erling Haaland Stickers

The Washington Post7d ago

Ecuadorian Police Seize Cocaine with Erling Haaland Image, Arrest Woman

The Associated Press7d ago

Soccer star Erling Haaland's face found on cocaine packages in Ecuador bust | AP News

11 Sources

Beyond cocaine, how is Ecuador's underground network rapidly transforming into a global logistics hub for synthetic drugs?

Why are global drug cartels using the faces of famous soccer stars to brand their multi-million dollar cocaine shipments?

Do massive interceptions of celebrity-branded narcotics actually disrupt cartel operations, or merely highlight their overwhelming trafficking volume?