Ex Colombia soccer star arrested for drug shipments

By: The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

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BOGOTA - Former Southampton and Portsmouth midfielder Jhon Viafara has been arrested in his native Colombia on a U.S. drug warrant.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/03/2019 (2751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BOGOTA – Former Southampton and Portsmouth midfielder Jhon Viafara has been arrested in his native Colombia on a U.S. drug warrant.

Colombia’s chief prosecutor’s office said Wednesday that prosecutors in Texas believe Viafara was part of a criminal network tied to the nation’s feared Gulf cartel, which for a decade moved large shipments of cocaine on fast boats and semi-submersible through the Pacific Ocean to Central America and onto the U.S.

He was arrested Tuesday along with four other people near the southern city of Cali after being involved in a car accident. Police say he was speeding while driving intoxicated.

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2011 file photo, Jhon Viafara of Colombia's Junior de Barranquilla celebrates after scoring against Brazil's Gremio during a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Barranquilla, Colombia. Viafara, a former Southampton and Portsmouth midfielder, has been arrested in his native Colombia on a U.S. drug warrant, said Colombia's chief prosecutor Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2011 file photo, Jhon Viafara of Colombia's Junior de Barranquilla celebrates after scoring against Brazil's Gremio during a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Barranquilla, Colombia. Viafara, a former Southampton and Portsmouth midfielder, has been arrested in his native Colombia on a U.S. drug warrant, said Colombia's chief prosecutor Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

The 40-year-old Viafara played on several Colombian club teams and the national team as well as Portsmouth, Southampton and Spain’s Real Sociedad before retiring in 2015.

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