A suspected drug lord who used to pump petrol at a shabby station became a footballer in just 10 years - despite not actually having any talent. Sebastián Marset at one point spent his entire salary on an Adidas David Beckham tracksuit top – with the former England captain said to be an idol for Marset. Now, with his dreams of being a professional footballer gone, Marset is said to be one of South America's most notorious drug lords.
Authorities say he has been shipping cocaine to Western Europe, while dodging arrest. Unlike most suspected traffickers, Marset wasn't spending his life on the run though, he was hiding in plain sight as a professional footballer. The 33-year-old from Montevideo, Uruguay, was representing teams he had no right to play for, all the while donning Beckham's renowned number 23 on his kit.
Going by the "King of the South" moniker - a label stamped on bricks of cocaine shipped to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany - authorities say Marset was building up a formidable narcos empire, reports . It is understood the cash from his shady dealings went into sponsoring and snapping up football squads in South America and Europe, playing himself as a middling midfielder, even though he didn't have the talent. According to an investigation from The Washington Post, Marset used these teams to help launder his money.
The so-called "Narco Millennial" Marset has been causing havoc, with authorities saying he's sparked a massive increase in drug trafficking thr.