Mexican soccer owner charged with trafficking drugs to Atlanta

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A judge charged the alleged owner of third-division Mexican football club Mapaches and four other team members with drug trafficking.

Wenceslao Alvarez was the leader of a group that trafficked cocaine and marijuana from Colombia to Atlanta, the federal Attorney General’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The office said the five worked for Michoacan’s infamous “La Familia” gang. Alvarez was believed to own Mapaches in the state of Michoacan.

The group was taken into custody in October at the Aguilas del America training facility in Mexico City. They have been under house arrest but will be transferred to a prison soon.

Mapaches was thrown out of the league by the Mexican Football Federation last month for alleged ties to drug traffickers.