Over 500 kg of cocaine found in coffee delivery for Nespresso

The production plant of coffee pod maker Nespresso, part of food giant Nestle, is pictured in Romont, Switzerland, August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

ZURICH, May 5 (Reuters) – Over 500 kg (1,102 lb) of cocaine estimated to be worth more than 50 million Swiss francs ($50.65 million) have been found in a container of coffee bean bags for Nestle’s (NESN.S) Nespresso factory in Romont in western Switzerland, the cantonal police said on Thursday.

Police were informed on Monday night by Nespresso that staff had found an undefined white substance while unloading bags of coffee beans that had just arrived from Brazil, the police said in a statement. Analyses showed the substance was cocaine.
“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 an emailed statement.

“As a police investigation is underway, we cannot share more details. We want to reassure consumers that all our products are safe to consume,” the maker of single-serve coffee capsules said.

($1 = 0.9871 Swiss francs)

Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz and Emma Farge; Editing by Richard Chang

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