“i-have-contacts-everywhere,-but-i-am-not-pablo-escobar”:-former-spanish-soccer-player-“koke”-speaks-for-the-first-time-about-his-conviction-for-drug-trafficking“I have contacts everywhere, but I am not Pablo Escobar”: Former Spanish soccer player “Koke” speaks for the first time about his conviction for drug trafficking
Avatar of Humberto Viera

By Humberto Viera

27 Sep 2023, 18:39 PM EDT

Sergio Contreras, known as “Koke”, a former team player for Málaga and Rayo Vallecano, was sentenced last May to six years in prison, after pleading guilty to leading an international marijuana trafficking network.

“Life is a little complicated. You have to pay for stupid things. We need to put an end to this as quickly as possible. I come from a neighborhood in Malaga where all my friends are childhood friends… I have contacts everywhere, but I am not Pablo Escobar! When you hear that ‘international trafficker’ you say, “What the hell have I done?” the 40-year-old former player explained to Canal Football Club, on Canal Plus France.

One of the anecdotes he told was that he received the drugs and later they transported them in trucks to European countries. Now, from his house in Marbella, he told the French channel that “as a soccer player, you are lucky to earn a lot of money. I earned maybe a million euros a year. In the other business, you earn in two months what you can earn in a year in football. But you are risking your life.”

“In France, they can kill you very quickly for that. Here in prison they can also kill you, but I’m not afraid. The prison is open for stupid people. I’m going back to prison, I don’t know for how long, but I have a sentence until 2027,″ Koke said during his probation.

At just 19 years old, Koke debuted in the first division with Málaga in the 2002-03 season and later played three seasons for Olympique de Marseille (2003-2006). He also played for Sporting de Portugal, Aris de Thessaloniki and Rayo Vallecano.

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