Swiss authorities seized more than 500 kgs, or about half a ton, of cocaine approximated to be worth $50 million from a shipment of coffee beans provided to a Nespresso plant. Workers made the discovery at the Nestle plant in Romont, Switzerland, where the business makes the coffee pods for its popular Nespresso brand name.
A Nespresso Team member “found an undetermined white substance when they unloaded the freshly delivered sacks of coffee beans,” Fribourg police told CBS News.
The Swiss authorities identified the compound as the drug after a closer analysis of the compound. Police browsed an extra 5 shipping containers provided on the exact same day and discovered more than 1,100 pounds of the controlled substance.
A search of five shipping containers “delivered the same day by train allowed for the seizure of more than 500kg of this drug,” police added.
The Swiss authorities approximated the drug haul’s worth to be about $50.65 million.
In their examination, Swiss authorities think the delivery of coffee beans that contained the prohibited compound came from Brazil. They, even more, think the drugs were planned for the European drug market.
The cantonal Police in Fribourg stated this was a huge seizure for the location.
“It’s really quite exceptional,” Marc Andrey, head of security for Fribourg, told EuroNews. “It’s the first time we’ve had such a find, 500 kg. I think it’s also one of the biggest seizures in Switzerland, not the biggest, but one of the biggest in Switzerland.”
According to ABC7,
“On Friday, the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol and the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported that cocaine availability in Europe “is probably at an all-time high.”
Switzerland is not an EU member but is part of the Schengen zone that allows for visa-free travel among many European countries.
The monitoring center said it estimates the EU cocaine retail market was worth at least 10.5 billion euros ($11.1 billion) in 2020, while cautioning that the figure was likely to underestimate the true size of the market.”
“The substance in question did not come into contact with any of our products or production equipment used to make our products,” Nespresso said in a statement issued to Yahoo.
“As a police investigation is underway, we cannot share more details. We want to reassure consumers that all our products are safe to consume,” said Nespresso.
H/T Timcast,
