While the profits associated with professional soccer make it a popular method of money laundering, occasionally the intersection of sports and drug trafficking works the other way around, involving players who become active participants in the drug trade.
In 2003, for instance, a former defensive player for Mexico's Club Necaxa, Carlos Alvarez Maya, was arrested in Mexico City's international airport after authorities found over one million dollars in cash in his luggage. When asked about the money, Mr. Alvarez gave the standard response used by nearly every drug and money mule that fears retribution for snitching: he told police a "stranger" had approached him in the airport parking lot and offered money to transport the suitcase with him.
