Europe

Huge cocaine shipment discovered at Coca-Cola factory

Workers at the French plant found the drugs inside a container of orange juice

File image of French police. Workers at a Coca-Cola factory in southern France have found a huge shipment of cocaine inside a shipment of orange juice. File photograph: Charles Platiau/Reuters
File image of French police. Workers at a Coca-Cola factory in southern France have found a huge shipment of cocaine inside a shipment of orange juice. File photograph: Charles Platiau/Reuters
Wed Aug 31 2016 - 15:27

Workers at a Coca-Cola factory in southern France have found a huge shipment of cocaine inside a shipment of orange juice.

Sacks containing 370kg of cocaine were hidden in a container holding orange juice from Costa Rica, said a spokesman for Coca-Cola France.

Employees immediately notified police and an investigation into trafficking and importing of illegal drugs has been opened by the Marseille prosecutor's office.

The factory in the town of Signes, near the Mediterranean, produces concentrates for various drinks.

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Coca leaves were reportedly used in the original Coca-Cola drink in the 19th-century, although the company says cocaine has never been an “added ingredient”.

PA