According to Tasnim news agency, Pablo Escobar, the world’s most famous drug lord, loved football. The Colombian built sports complexes in impoverished areas and even bought Atlético Nacional in his hometown, which immediately received financial investments. Thanks to Escobar’s money, the club even became the first Colombian team to win the Copa Libertadores in 1989. However, less than four years later, El Patron was shot three times while trying to escape from a house surrounded by special agents, and that was how the security services ended Atlético’s golden era. A few decades later, a less successful drug dealer appeared in Spain, who turned out to be even more involved in soccer than Escobar. Former Malaga, Sporting and Marseille striker Koke went to prison for the second time for leading an organization involved in drug trafficking.
Sergio Contreras Pardo or simply Coque was born in Malaga. His football started here. The burly striker looked good at Malaga B. One of the attacking players of the reserve team was given opportunities in the composition of the main team; This guy even scored a goal but overall he didn’t reach La Liga level. In the 2002/03 season, the 19-year-old striker scored one goal in the Championship and the Intertoto Cup and made 11 appearances in all competitions. A high-quality career at the European Championships seemed to be in store for him. In 2004, Marseille took Koke on loan for 6 months and then bought him for 700,000 euros. The French team immediately trusted the young Spanish striker. In the 2004/05 season, 21-year-old Koke was the main striker of one of the most famous French clubs and even scored a goal. He scored 5 goals and provided one assist in 24 games in the French Ligue 1.
More was expected from Sergio. The Spanish striker scored just one goal in six months of the post-season as Marseille finished bottom of the table. Marseille needed to freshen up, so in the winter transfers, the club left several players, one of which was Pardo.
Koke started the drug business with his brother and a few other partners. The gang quickly achieved a large turnover not only in Spain, but also in other European countries. It was later revealed that it was the former football player who played a key role in the drug trade, including carrying out operations related to the transportation and sale of banned substances. Pardo and his accomplices did not remain free for long. Koke, who finished football in 2016, ended up behind bars in 2019. The network of this former football player was covered by the National Guard in the special operation “Moscow”. About 150 agents conducted 11 simultaneous inspections, as a result of which 20 people were arrested and a ton of hashish, as well as weapons and cash, were discovered. Pardo’s daughter and brother were also among the defendants according to the wiretapping of their phone conversations.
Koke went to prison for a year and a half. He initially faced 16 years in prison but was released on bail. In 2023, the former Marseille striker returned to prison and will likely remain there until 2027. In Malaga prison, everyone knows who Sergio Pardo is and besides, the French and Marseille fans are there too.
The Spanish footballer and former Marseille striker once said: If you are a footballer, then you are lucky because you can earn a lot of money. As a footballer, I received one million euros a year. In the drug trade, I made this amount in two months, but I was in danger. You may be killed here in prison, but I am not afraid. The prison is open to stupid people. By the way, I saw a lot of Marseille t-shirts here. If I could, I wouldn’t have done what I did after my career ended, but I didn’t.