Ecuadorian authorities announced the discovery of a staggering cocaine cache on the outskirts of Tulcán, near the Colombian border, where 469 kilograms of the drug were hidden inside a truck’s false floor.
The find came after an anonymous tip led officers to the Pan‑American Highway, where they uncovered 370 sealed packages, each bearing a vivid green wrapper emblazoned with the likeness of Norwegian football star Erling Haaland.
The operation resulted in the detention of a woman identified as María R., who held Colombian identification documents, and the driver of the vehicle, marking a rare instance of a female suspect being apprehended in such seizures.
With an estimated street value exceeding $19.6 million in Europe, $11 million in the United States and nearly $842 000 domestically, the shipment underscores the lucrative scale of the drug trade that uses Ecuador as a strategic conduit.
A Marketing Gimmick in the Underworld
Law enforcement officials note that traffickers have increasingly resorted to printing the faces of globally recognized athletes and entertainers on their product, a practice that serves both as a brand signal to trusted partners and as a marketing ploy to differentiate shipments.
Ecuador’s geography, perched between Colombia — the world’s second‑largest cocaine producer — and Peru, makes it an ideal transit point, with roughly 80 percent of the continent’s cocaine passing through its borders.
In the first half of 2024, Ecuadorian police seized eight tons of narcotics, and by mid‑2025 they had already confiscated close to 215 tons, reflecting an aggressive crackdown that nonetheless struggles against entrenched criminal networks.
The seizure also revives memories of similar incidents where Lionel Messi’s visage appeared on contraband, indicating a broader trend among cartels to exploit pop‑culture icons as covert stamps of authenticity.
While the use of celebrity imagery may seem theatrical, analysts warn that it can complicate investigations, as the visual cues may mislead both investigators and the public about the true origins of the cargo.