Probably from the biggest drug lord of the 80's in the whole world - Pablo Escobar, the Colombian. Apparantly 80% of Cocaine use in the 80's was most likely his product. He was so large in his own country he either did or nearly ran for president of Colombia. He had thousands of people killed and became a hero to the poor of Colombia simply by offering them bounty's for killing cops.

However, it could be some other dude he got the name from.