Bolivian police seize 86.5kg cannabis from coach due to pick up São Paulo | OneFootball

Police in Bolivia seized approximately 86.5kg of cannabis from a coach hired to collect São Paulo before their Copa Sudamericana last-16 meeting with Bolívar. No members of the Brazilian club’s delegation were on board.

According to SuperDepor.com, the vehicle, operated by Buses Cosmos, was travelling from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz de la Sierra to pick up the squad and was already displaying the club’s markings.

Umopar officers intercepted the coach in Locotal on the route between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. During checks they found four jute bags hidden in a compartment in the driver’s cab containing packages that weighed about 86.5kg in total.

Two drivers and an assistant were detained on suspicion of trafficking controlled substances. In the same road operation another coach carrying 110kg of cannabis was stopped, taking the combined haul to roughly 196kg and the number of detainees to five.

São Paulo’s logistics were not affected. Buses Cosmos dispatched a replacement to transport players between the airport and their hotel in Santa Cruz, then back again. The seized coach did not carry any member of the delegation.

The club said it initially had no information about the incident and learnt of it via Bolivian media. Buses Cosmos stated responsibility lay with the crew and stressed there was no link to São Paulo’s squad.

For the Bolívar tie, São Paulo based themselves in Santa Cruz and planned to fly to La Paz only hours before kick-off to limit time at 3,650 metres. They expected to arrive around 18:20 and head straight to the stadium, accepting a possible Conmebol warning over arrival timings.

Source: SuperDepor.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”