AN ARGENTINE drug trafficking operation operating out of Barcelona looked to use Premier League star Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero as the face of the operation, new documents reveal.
Roughly 12 litres of liquid exctasy were intercepted at Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza airport, according to Argentine prosecutors.
The seizure led to 27 raids, 11 arrests, and the discovery of drugs, cash, cars and mobile phones across Buenos Aires.
READ MORE: Champions of the world: Spain defeat embarrassing Argentina to win World Cup for second time
Forensic work on took investigators to Pablo ‘Bebote’ Alvarez – head of Buenos Aires club Independiente’s hooligan firm.
He was arrested last week at a house in Avellaneda where he was already under house arrest in a separate case.
Alvarez, who lived for several years in Spain, is accused of importing synthetic drugs from Spain and cocaine from Bolivia.
Investigators allege the designer drugs were sold largely at electronic music events.
It is what investigators found next on the seized phones that has made the case front-page news in Argentina.
According to outlet Clarin, which broke the story, and Buenos Aires outlet La Politica Online, which says it obtained the file, members of the ring spent months trying to attach Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero to their businesses.
READ MORE: Police in Spain arrest drugs mule at Barcelona hospital bedside after cocaine burst in his stomach
The 38-year-old former Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and Barcelona forward is not named as a suspect by Argentine authorities.
Prosecutors allege the network laundered drug money through two ticketing firms, blending illicit cash with genuine takings from lower-division football matches.
The plan was to hang that platform off Aguero’s name by branding it ‘KRU Tickets’ – a nod to KRU Esports, the gaming outfit he founded after retiring.
In late January, one of the accused, Diego Anzalone, told an associate they would be signing with the footballer within a fortnight.
By late March he was proposing to split the business in two, with one company earmarked for Aguero, and the group discussed flying to Mexico to close the deal.
On April 22, Anzalone wrote that he was coming out of a face-to-face meeting with Aguero at which the agreement had been sealed.
An image dated May 12 carries a finished logo. On June 12 came a PDF titled ‘guion_kru_tickets.pdf’ – a script for a launch advert the gang hoped the striker would film.
Investigators say the group also wanted a way into the Copa Potrero, the street-football tournament Aguero runs, and that phones carry talk of property and commercial ventures around his circle going back to 2023.
From his cell, Alvarez told the court that a 50% stake in the ticketing company was being sold to Aguero.
Nothing in the file indicates a sale completed, money changed hands, or that Aguero knew who he was dealing with.
Sources close to him told Clarin he routinely receives offers like this and that no agreement was made.
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