$56M Worth of Cocaine Found at French Coca-Cola Factory

In what was either cosmic irony or a case of criminals being a bit too on-the-nose, a stockpile of cocaine worth $56 million was found this week in France…in a Coca-Cola factory.

The AP reported that the factory in Signes, which produces concentrates, had a little something extra hidden in a recent shipment of orange juice concentrate from Costa Rica. Authorities discovered 370 kilograms (815 pounds) of coke hidden in bags—one of the largest such busts in the country’s history.

|#Marseille| Var: 370 kilos de cocaïne saisis dans un container de Coca-Cola: Lamarchandise illicite valait … https://t.co/hQI4sWLx3S

— DirectMarseille (@DirectMarseille) August 31, 2016

According to the New York Times, local officials quickly ruled out plant employees. “The first elements of the investigation have shown that employees are in no way involved,” said Jean-Denis Malgras, the company’s regional president. A local prosecutor called the discovery “a very bad surprise.”

It is generally believed that early versions of Coca-Cola itself contained coca leaf extract, but the company says that cocaine was never an “added ingredient.”

People on social media couldn’t avoid cracking jokes about the incident.

Authorities found 815lbs of cocaine in a Coca-Cola plant in France signaling an inevitable return to their Coke and a Smile campaign.

— Phil Richardson (@CelticWombat) September 1, 2016

I´m very disappointed, french coke is much better than ours.https://t.co/hQpZIeOYUM

— Gonzalo Varela (@gonzavar) September 1, 2016

There was 815 pounds of cocaine found in a Coca-Cola factory in France. I think they misunderstood what kind of coke they sell.

— Sam (@samirenate) September 1, 2016