New York federal authorities have arrested two men who were transporting cocaine worth $3 million on Bronx streets. The Bronx happens to be the northernmost part of the five boroughs that constitute New York City. Interestingly enough some of the brick-shaped packages that they were carrying had the inscription of ‘Messi’ as the brand name.
The two men were busted in two separate vehicles. Xavier Herbert-Gumbs, 22 and Mark Soto, 23 were caught red-handed on Thursday evening and charged with drug possession. They both allegedly hail from Puerto Rico. The United States territory of Puerto Rico located in the northwestern Caribbean is already a notorious place for drug trade. It happens to be a drug transhipment area and is known for the drug cartels that run a violent business from the archipelago.
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Herbert-Gumbs, 22 was caught carrying 110 pounds of coke in brick-shaped packages with brand names. He was caught at the intersection of Williamsbridge Road and Pelham Parkway in Allerton at around 6:15 p.m.
Some bricks in Gumbs’ possession were branded ‘Messi’. The law enforcement authorities claimed that it referred to the Argentine phenomenon Lionel Messi. However, they also made it clear that there is no possible connection between Messi and the drug network that Soto and Herbert-Gumbs were working for.
Soto possessed 26 pounds of cocaine and he was caught near the intersection of Corlear Avenue and West 231st Street in Kingsbridge at around 7:10 p.m. Their bail has been set at $400,000.
The probe was conducted by the New York City’s Special Narcotics Investigation prosecutor, NYPD, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Authorities surprised to see Messi’s name as the branding for the drugs
Lionel Messi’s fame is growing each passing day and now we even get to see drug lords using his brand name.
Messi collects some $65 million dollars annually, with $42 million dollars coming from Spanish club FC Barcelona and the rest from deals with brands such as Pepsi, Adidas and Turkish Airlines.
Though Messi is not involved with the drug cartel in question here, he has had his acquaintances with the wrong side of the law when he and his father were charged with tax evasion. They were accused of hiding $6 million in taxes from the Spanish government.
However, such defamatory usage of his name is surely detrimental to his image. As it happens with famous names, they are tarnished at the slightest hint of a scandal. Then it doesn't take time for the world to start pointing fingers at these famous personalities. If such things continue then even the wizard of contemporary football will not be an exemption.
