Police have found the face of footballer Erling Haaland and the FIFA World Cup stuck to £14.5m worth of drugs seized in Ecuador, The Telegraph reports.

Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland’s face has appeared on television screens, trading cards and adverts around the world. Nonetheless, narcotics police were no doubt a little surprised to come across the Manchester City striker’s image when they seized hundreds of green packets filled with cocaine in a truck in Ecuador.

Each of the 370 packages, which were hidden in a concealed compartment in the vehicle and would be worth an estimated £14.5m if sold in Europe, was decorated with a sticker showing Haaland’s face, plus the World Cup and a football.

The driver of the vehicle was arrested following the seizure of the 469kg of cocaine near the Colombian border.

Haaland, already popular in Europe thanks to his affable character and remarkable scoring record, vaulted to global fame after scoring seven goals for Norway in four World Cup matches in July, and launching a YouTube channel.

It is thought his face may have been used by drug traffickers as a way of labeling their shipment or signaling which criminal network produced the merchandise.

There is no suggestion the shipment was linked to Haaland.

The Norwegian, whose side were knocked out of the World Cup by England, is not the only footballer apparently favored by drug smugglers. Previously, the image of Lionel Messi, the Argentine national team captain, has been found on seized shipments.

Ecuador is considered to be a logistical hub for drug trafficking. Drugs are stockpiled, stored and distributed via Central American routes, mainly to the US, but also to Europe.

Police said a woman they named as Maria R, who had Colombian identity documents, had been arrested in the operation in Guagua Negro, near the border city of Tulcan, 153 miles north of Quito.

The estimated value of the shipment is nearly £624,000 on the domestic market, more than £8m in the US and more than £14.5m in Europe.