03 May 2023 , 12:00
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A LaLiga footballer has accepted a six-year prison sentence after being accused of leading a drug trafficking ring.
Sergio Contreras, better known as Koke, agreed to a plea deal at a court in Malaga after being warned state prosecutors were seeking to have him imprisoned for 16 years ahead of his trial.
The ex-striker, whose clubs included Malaga, Olympique de Marseille and Sporting CP in Portugal, was one of 17 defendants accused of buying large amounts of drugs that were smuggled in lorries into different European countries. Koke had been described in a pre-trial indictment as the gang leader.
The drugs were mainly marihuana and cannabis resin but also included cocaine. The gang Koke has now admitted he led was smashed in November 2019 following a police operation codenamed Operation Vinculada that involved wiretaps and undercover follows.
One of the drug runs linked to the ex-footballer’s gang, consisting of vacuum-packed marihuana and cocaine hidden inside a cargo of garlic, was valued at £350,000. All 16 of the defendants who showed up for a trial at Malaga’s Provincial Court on March 27, which ended up being suspended following a no-show by a 17th female defendant police are still hunting, admitted their guilt at a brief hearing on Tuesday.
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As part of the plea bargain deals they struck following a subsequent period of negotiation between state prosecutors and their defence lawyers, they have agreed to accept prison sentences of between two and six years reflecting their different responsibilities in the gang.
Koke played for French giants Marseille after leaving boyhood club Malaga (Reportages / Icon Sport via Getty Images)Jail sentences for first-time offenders in Spain normally end up being suspended. Koke, 40, started his footballing career at hometown club Malaga, making six first-team appearances after graduating from the club's academy. He went on to join Olympique de Marseille, initially on loan, before being loaned to Sporting CP.
He then produced the best football of his career in years at Greek side Aris, where the first of his two spells there included a brief cameo in a 2011 3-0 Europa League defeat to Manchester City. The forward retired from football in 2016 following a brief second stint in Greece during which he scored one goal in three appearances.
Koke's globetrotting career spanned nine countries and three continents, as he played in Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, the United States, Azerbaijan, Germany, Bolivia and India. At both Malaga and Marseille he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup.