After confessing to managing a cocaine trafficking network, a former La Liga footballer accepted a six-year prison term. Sergio Contreras, often known as Koke, consented to a plea bargain arrangement in Malaga after being notified that state prosecutors planned to imprison him for 16 years ahead of his trial.
The former striker, whose clubs included Malaga, Marseille, and Sporting Lisbon, was one of 17 convicts accused of purchasing massive amounts of cocaine that were transported into various European countries in lorries. In a pre-trial indictment, Koke was described as the gang leader. The narcotics were mostly marijuana and cannabis resin, but there was also cocaine.
Arrested in 2019, former La Liga striker accepts six-year term in jail for drug trafficking
The group Koke has now admitted to leading was busted in November 2019 as part of Operation Vinculada, a police operation involving wiretaps and undercover operatives. As part of a large operation across Spain, the Guardia Civil conducted 11 raids involving a total of 150 officers.
Koke, 36, was handcuffed with his brother at his Estepona house. Twenty persons were detained in various parts of Andalusia, including Malaga, Estepona, the Granada hamlet of Loja, and the Sevillian cities of Los Molares and Utrera. The raids were said to have turned up “significant amounts of cash,” as well as guns and a tonne of hashish, or cannabis resin.
One of the narcotics trips linked to the ex-La Liga striker’s group was worth £350,000 and consisted of vacuum-packed marijuana and cocaine hidden inside a load of garlic. At a brief hearing on Tuesday, all 16 defendants who appeared for a trial at Malaga’s Provincial Court on March 27, which ended up being suspended due to a no-show by a 17th female defendant police are still looking for, admitted their guilt.
As part of the plea bargain deals they reached after a period of negotiating between state prosecutors and their defence counsel, they agreed to accept prison sentences ranging from two to six years, reflecting their varying roles in the gang. In Spain, jail terms for first-time offenders are usually suspended.
Koke progressed through the ranks at his native club Malaga, scoring on his debut, before going on a far-flung career. He played in the MLS for Marseille, Sporting Lisbon, and Houston Dynamo before finishing his career in India and returning to Estepona.
However, the former La Liga star was best known for his time at Aris, where he spent six years over two separate stints in Thessaloniki. The striker even made a brief appearance for the Super League club against Manchester City in a 3-0 defeat during the Europa League round-of-32 in 2011. Edin Dzeko scored twice in the first 15 minutes before Yaya Toure added a third, with Koke coming off the bench in the second half.