‘At least he’s not selling coke’: Pablo Escobar’s brother launches own folding smartphone as Twitter snorts with laughter

Roberto Escobar, brother of notorious cocaine kingpin Pablo, is taking the family business in a new direction with a foldable smartphone. Launched with a bevy of glamorous Russian models, the device was met with hilarity online.

The ‘Escobar Fold 1’ is Escobar Inc’s flagship smartphone device, selling for $350. The family is better known for its one-time dominance of the global cocaine trade, rather than mobile technology, so many are left to wonder if the new device is the real deal, or just a clever marketing campaign. 

One of the promotional videos for the device was filmed in Moscow and features Russian models, including Miss Playboy Russia 2017, Kristina Yakimova. However, the models don't actually use the phone, they just pose with (and fight over) it.

A video purporting to show the device in use shows that, yes, it can fold and still apparently display properly, but otherwise there’s no actual interaction with the device. The phone hasn’t actually been reviewed yet, so no one is quite sure what to make of it all. 

Some skeptics online suspect it’s simply a rebranding of an old Chinese foldable phone which predates the Samsung Galaxy and was known for its faulty hinge. Others simply couldn’t help themselves from some Narcos references.

Roberto Escobar is reportedly suing Elon Musk's Boring Company for “stealing” the idea of a consumer flamethrower, but he also plans to file a $30 billion class-action lawsuit against Apple over their smartphones. 

“I have told many people that I would beat Apple and I will,” Escobar told Digital Trends. “I cut the networks and retailers, to sell to customers phones that can fold for only $349, phones which in stores cost thousands of dollars by Samsung and others. This is my goal, to beat Apple, and by doing it myself like I always have.”

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