Soccer Star Busted With 9,000 Pills

#KRITICIZM - Former professional soccer player Diego Serna, 52, is facing federal charges after authorities allege he arrived at Miami International Airport from Medellín, Colombia, carrying nearly 9,000 suspected hydrocodone pills. According to a federal criminal complaint, Colombian authorities had issued a lookout alert before his arrival. Customs officers directed Serna to a secondary inspection, where seven vitamin bottles containing approximately 8,975 pills were allegedly discovered inside two backpacks. Investigators said the tablets tested positive for opiates.

Federal agents allege Serna said the pills had been delivered to his apartment in Colombia by a man he knew only as “Sebastian.” According to the complaint, the man paid for Serna’s flight and instructed him to wait for directions after landing in Miami. Serna reportedly agreed to cooperate with investigators and participated in a controlled delivery at the airport. Authorities said a woman arrived in a vehicle, accepted a backpack containing the bottles and was detained moments later. Her identity and whether she will face charges were not disclosed.

Serna was arrested on charges of importing hydrocodone and conspiring to import hydrocodone into the United States. He was later released on a $100,000 surety bond, ordered to surrender his passport and restricted to traveling within South Florida. Serna became widely known during his years with the Miami Fusion, where he played from 1998 through 2001 and finished as the club’s all-time leading scorer. He is scheduled to return to federal court for arraignment on August 20. The charges remain allegations, and Serna is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.