Peru Police Seize $85 Million Worth Of Cocaine Branded With Lionel Messi’s Face

By Michael Saponara

Law enforcement officials in Peru came across over 1,400 kilos of cocaine in a huge drug bust that was intended for Belgium (March 23). FC Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi’s mug graced the squid and drug filled packages. While the rest of the bricks were wrapped in black packaging featuring a “King” logo signifying the king of Spain. Peru officials estimate the haul was worth nearly $85 million in street value. The logos are used by gangs to make sure the purity of the vacuum sealed bricks stay in tact while being transported.

“Most of the 1,288 packages of drugs were camouflaged as squid filets and had a label that said ‘Messi’ along with a picture of the Argentina player Lionel Messi wearing the shirt of the Spanish club Barcelona,” the news release read.

This isn’t even the largest drug bust of 2017 for Peruvian officials, who arrested a Serbian man and four Peruvians suspected of running a smuggling operation for more than 4,500 pounds of cocaine hidden in fake asparagus cans destined for Amsterdam in January. Peru is now at the epicenter of cocaine manufacturing, rivaling that of the cocaine capital of the world, Colombia.

“There is no doubt that this is an international organization,” said authorities. “And it is likely that the Mexican Sinaloa cartel is behind this thwarted shipment.”

No arrests on the cocaine impoundment have been made thus far in the investigation.

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