Portuguese League
From Porto’s Future Goalkeeper to Drug Trafficker: The Arrest of Cardoso
Ivan Cardoso, who once played for Porto’s reserve team, has been arrested by the PSP (Public Security Police).
The Criminal Investigation Division of the PSP in Porto detained former Porto goalkeeper Iván Cardoso during an anti-drug raid that seized cocaine, weapons, and high-end vehicles.
At the conclusion of the operation, authorities confiscated three kilos of heroin, half a kilo of cocaine, small amounts of hashish and amphetamines, and one and a half kilos of a substance used to cut drugs.
The 22-year-old footballer, along with 16 other individuals, was arrested on charges of belonging to one of the largest drug trafficking networks in the Cerco neighborhood of Porto.
Cardoso, who played for Porto’s B team (FC Porto B), left the club in 2023 after training in its youth academy. Investigators consider him one of the five main members of the dismantled criminal organization. His role was to acquire and traffic drugs, which were then sold on the streets by other network members.
The PSP investigation, which began in October 2024, revealed that the criminal group had established a security system composed of lookouts who used firearms to violently respond to any interference, even from police.