Airline Might Have Let Moreno Board Despite Suspicions

The Minister of the Guayas District, Antonio Gagliardo, stated today in an interview with Teleamazonas, that the former referee and sportscast, Byron Moreno, who was arrested on Monday with charges of carrying six kilos of heroin valued at more than $500,000, never should have board the plane in Ecuador.

According to Diario El Universo, Moreno may have alleged he had underwent a liposuction procedure on the abdomen, and that any physical contact caused him severe pain. Abraham Cheing, Airport Crimes Prosecutor, affirmed that in the short time the airline officer checked Moreno before he asked her to stop, “she felt he had a strip on the abdomen side and on the back, and another strip on his leg, while Moreno asked not to be touched because he couldn’t stand the pain”.

Despite an Airline Supervisor also checked Moreno, the Airport Prosecution and the Narcotics Police weren’t notified of the fact, and the former referee was allowed to board without any trouble. According to Carlos Cabrera, Guayas Narcotics Police Chief, the constant short travels Byron Moreno has been making to USA, might have alerted the Police there, especially because Moreno has traveled 5 times since 2007, 2 of which only lasted 3 days and he only carried baggage.

FIFA, on the other side, has stated they have no intentions of investigating the former referee. “Mr. Moreno has not been an international referee for many years now. At the moment of this statement, there’s no plan of FIFA to investigate”, the FIFA announced. Michael Padden, Moreno’s attorney, affirmed on Thursday that Moreno wouldn’t answer questions regarding the match between Corea del Sur/Italia.