Haaland’s face on cocaine packages was an unexpected detail in a drug seizure carried out in Ecuador this week. Police found 469 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a truck near the Colombian border, with hundreds of green packages carrying stickers showing Norwegian football star Erling Braut Haaland.
The seizure took place near Tulcán, in northern Ecuador. According to NRK, police removed the cocaine from a false compartment beneath the truck after receiving an anonymous tip.
In total, officers found 370 packages containing 469 kilograms of cocaine. Pictures released by Ecuadorian police show the packages lined up on the ground, each carrying the same image of the Norway and Manchester City striker.
There is, of course, no indication that Haaland had anything to do with the shipment.
Why Haaland’s face was on the cocaine packages
Ecuadorian police have not explained why the traffickers chose Haaland.
Using pictures, logos and other symbols to mark cocaine packages is not unusual, however. Such markings can help identify who produced a shipment, which criminal group controls it or who is expected to receive it.
As TV 2 Norway reported, other famous footballers have appeared on cocaine packages before. Lionel Messi, for example, has also been used on shipments seized in South America.
In Haaland’s case, the choice is particularly striking because he is among the most recognisable Norwegian athletes in the world.
A very unusual appearance for Norway’s biggest football star
The truck driver was arrested after the seizure. Police have not said whether the Haaland stickers have any specific meaning in the investigation.
For Norwegian media, the episode quickly became a curiosity because of the contrast between an international football star and a shipment of cocaine intercepted thousands of kilometres away in Ecuador.
Haaland has appeared on football shirts, advertising campaigns and magazine covers around the world. Finding his face repeated across 370 packages of cocaine was a rather less predictable addition to that list.
