Ecuador police intercepted a truck near the border with Colombia and seized about 469 kilograms of cocaine on August 12, 2026. The drugs were concealed in a false compartment beneath the vehicle near the city of Tulcán, located roughly 246 kilometers north of Quito [1, 2, 3, 4].
The cocaine was packaged in green rectangular bricks wrapped with stickers bearing Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland’s image [1, 2, 3, 5, 4]. Authorities said using celebrity images, including sports icons like Haaland and Messi, is a known tactic used by criminal groups to signal supplier networks or buyers [1, 2, 3, 5, 4].
Police arrested two suspects at the scene: the truck driver and María R., a woman identified with Colombian documents [1, 2, 3]. The seizure came after police received an anonymous tip on August 11 alerting them to the suspicious vehicle near the Colombia-Ecuador border [1, 2, 3].
The cocaine’s estimated value is about $842,000 in Ecuador’s local market, over $11 million in the United States, and nearly $19.6 million if sold in Europe [1, 2, 3, 4]. Ecuador is a key transit hub for cocaine trafficking routed from Colombia and Peru toward Central America, the U.S., and Europe [1, 2, 3, 4].
In the first half of 2026, Ecuador police seized around 80 tons of drugs, continuing an upward trend after 215 tons were confiscated in 2025 and nearly 295 tons in 2024 [1, 2, 3].
Erling Haaland gained global prominence after scoring seven goals during the July 2026 World Cup, which boosted his social media and commercial profile [1, 2, 3, 4]. Authorities have not linked Haaland directly to the narcotics case, only noting the use of his image by traffickers.
The investigation into the trafficking network continues as authorities aim to identify further links and dismantle related operations.
