Peru seizes 1.5 tons of cocaine bearing Lionel Messi's likeness

March 24 (UPI) -- Police in Peru seized 3,000 pounds of cocaine bearing the name and likeness of Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi.

"We impounded a ton and a half of cocaine in the port of Callao," Peruvian Police said in a statement.

Police said the cocaine, bagged in 1,282 packages and bearing Messi's name and likeness, as well as the shield of the King of Spain, was en route to the United States and Belgium.

Prosecutors specializing in drugs said the shipment of drugs discovered during the weekend was held in three containers belonging to the Valle de Oro Perú S.A.C. company. The drug seizure is valued to be worth $85 million, La Republica reported.

An anti-drug official said the shipment could belong to a cell working for Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel.

"As the hours go by, it will be possible to advance in the investigation, not only in the identification of the members of this network, but in the capture of the recipients," the official said. "There is no doubt that this is an international organization. And it is likely that the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel card will be behind this impounded shipment."