Swiss police said on Thursday they seized more than 500 kilograms of cocaine from a shipment of coffee beans delivered to a Nespresso factory.
Workers at the Romont factory in the canton of Friborg in western Switzerland alerted authorities on Monday to a mysterious white powder found in bags of coffee beans, police said.
Staff at the site, owned by Swiss food giant Nestlé, “found an undetermined white substance when they unloaded the bags of freshly delivered coffee beans,” Friborg police said.
Analysis determined that the substance was cocaine. A search of five maritime containers “sent the same day by train led to the seizure of more than 500 kilos of this drug”, added the police. She said she set up a large security perimeter around the plant during the operation, which also involved a large contingent of customs officers.
The cocaine did not contaminate the production of the factory, took care to specify the police.
Initial investigation determined that the shipment originated in Brazil, police said, adding that the cocaine seized was more than 80% pure, with an estimated street value of more than 50 million Swiss francs ($51 million). dollars, 48 million euros).
“It seems that all the drugs were destined for the European market,” according to the police.