Workers find 370kg of smuggled cocaine worth €50m in French Coca-Cola factory
Police in Marseille are determined to find out who sent the container from Costa Rica
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Workers at a Coca-Cola factory in Signes, southern France, have found 370kg of cocaine in a shipping container.
The drugs have a market value of around €50 million, according to prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux.
The stash, found on Thursday, was concealed among orange juice concentrate in a container shipped from Costa Rica.
In March, 370kg of cocaine was also found in a shipping container in the port of Le Havre.
In a seizure off the coast of Martinique last year, French customs officers uncovered a national record of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine from a sailboat.
The discovery in Signes, however, represents one of the largest drug hauls in mainland France.
The Coca-Cola factory in Signes produces concentrates for the company’s various drinks.
When Coca-Cola was first created in 1886, the recipe included small amounts coca leaf from Peru, which contained cocaine. The quantity of coca was reduced in 1903, and it was finally removed in 1928.
Police are yet to arrest anyone in connection with the cocaine shipment, but judicial police in Marseilles have launched an investigation to determine who sent the shipment.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments