Geneva — Swiss police mentioned Thursday that they had seized greater than 500 kilograms, or about half a ton, of cocaine from a cargo of espresso beans delivered to a Nespresso plant. Employees on the plant in Romont, within the western Swiss canton of Fribourg, alerted authorities on Monday to a mysterious white powder present in sacks of espresso beans, police mentioned.
Workers on the espresso capsule maker, owned by Swiss meals large Nestle, "discovered an undetermined white substance once they unloaded the freshly delivered sacks of espresso beans," Fribourg police mentioned.
Police evaluation decided the substance was cocaine. A search of 5 delivery containers "delivered the identical day by practice allowed for the seizure of greater than 500 kilos (1,103 kilos) of this drug," police added.
Police mentioned they arrange a big safety perimeter across the manufacturing unit in the course of the operation, which additionally concerned a big contingent of customs officers.
The items containing the medication had been remoted, and the substance didn't contaminate manufacturing on the plant, the assertion mentioned.
The preliminary probe indicated that the cargo originated in Brazil, police mentioned, including that the seized cocaine was decided to be greater than 80 p.c pure, with an estimated road worth of over 50 million Swiss francs ($51 million, 48 million euros).
"It seems that all the medication had been destined for the European market," police mentioned.
