On Tuesday, August 11, during a routine check, Ecuadorian police opened the false bottom of a vehicle and came across something they did not expect. 🔴
They were not ordinary packages. Each block bore the printed face of Erling Haaland, the Norwegian Manchester City forward, as if it were collectible merchandise. Wrapped this way, they expected to go unnoticed at road checkpoints. In total, 370 kilograms of illicit substances ready to be moved without raising suspicion.
The operation is part of a broader deployment against drug trafficking in the country, and the seized shipment has an estimated value exceeding 800 thousand dollars. Using the image of a global idol to camouflage substances is a strategy that has already been seen in other countries in the region, where cartels wrap the merchandise with public figures to throw authorities off the trail. ⚽🚨