Brazilian police seized a small shipment of both powder and crack cocaine packaged in bags bearing the Olympic rings and the logo of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, authorities said Tuesday.

The drug was in plastic bags marked with the Olympic lettering, the stamp identifying the point of sale and a warning to “keep away from children,” according to information offered by the Civil Police.

Police confiscated 93 doses of cocaine, 28 of crack and 13 .40 caliber bullets – a caliber restricted to weapons of the security forces – at a house in the Lapa neighborhood, a popular leisure area in downtown Rio.

Brazilian drug traffickers often use images and names of soccer players and sports events to promote their products.

Local authorities expect Rio to receive about 1.5 million visitors for the Olympic Games, which will be held from Aug. 5-21. EFE

 

Rio de Janeiro, Jul 26 (EFE)

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, branded cocaine is a clever marketing strategy used by dealers at the street retail level. At the wholesale level, however, branding cocaine is a matter of logistics. 

Brazil has a precedent of branding retail cocaine packets with sports imagery. A few years ago, police officers in Sao Paulo confiscated a stash of cocaine that had been divided into handy, easy-to-use capsules complete with nozzles and branded “Neymar”.

Neymar Jr. is a Brazilian football star who currently plays for the FC Barcelona in Spain. He also happens to be the country’s major hope to wind the gold medal in football, a feat that has proven elusive for a National Team that is considered to have been the absolute best in the world.
When agents questioned the use of Neymar’s image and the accompanying slogan “Boas Festas” [Happy Holidays], on the cocaine packets, the arrested suspect explained that it served to highlight that the product was of the highest quality.