Why does the seized cocaine have Prada and Tesla logos?

The Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) reported on Tuesday the seizure of more than 1,500 kilos of cocaine that were being transported in two tractor-trailers. The cocaine packages found by the authorities are notable for the luxury brand logos printed on the front.

In the photographs shared by the SS, headed by Omar García Harfuch, it can be seen that the cocaine packages that were seized have at least three different logos.

One of the logos is that of the famous clothing and accessories brand Prada, which comes in a white tone with a black background and the name is inside an inverted triangle, as it usually appears on some of the fashion company's bags.

Another is that of Tesla, Elon Musk's automobile manufacturing company, although the colors are inverted compared to the original, as the logo is black and the background is white.

The third logo is that of the JW PEI brand, which is a U.S. accessories brand. On the front of the cocaine packages, the letters JW can be seen in black with a white background.

Omar García Harfuch estimated that the seized cocaine is worth more than 400 million pesos and although he avoided saying to which cartel the merchandise belonged, he indicated that the four arrested are from Durango.

Why is the cocaine marked with logos?

According to SSC data, 2,160 kilos of cocaine have been seized since 2020, not including this Tuesday's seizure.

This is not the first time that the drug packages have been seen with the logos of luxury brands, as in past seizures there have been those of Toyota, Lexus, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Nissan, among others.

According to an investigation published in 2021 on journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva's news program, drug trafficking groups such as the Sinaloa Cartel use logos to classify the cocaine shipment according to its purity and who is involved in the purchase of the drug.