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Huge cocaine bust boosted Swiss drug seizures

Wrapped cocaine seized by Swiss customs
One spectacular bust inflated the amount of cocaine seized in Switzerland last year. Keystone / Patricia Flach

Swiss customs officials seized significantly more illegal narcotics last year following a high-profile discovery of cocaine hidden amid coffee beans destined for a Nestlé factory.

The total haul of seized drugs amounted to 1.09 tons in 2022, which was 125 kilograms more than the previous year.

+ Why Swiss cities dominate the cocaine hit parade

The 500kg cocaine bust in May in a container bound for a Nestlé factory brought the amount of cocaine seized up from 90kgs in 2021 to 568kgs last year.

The Swiss customs authorities said on Thursday they had also uncovered more narcotics being sent by mail, mainly from North America.

But the amount of seized fake medicines – mainly bogus Viagra pills – fell by more than 30%

Around 2.2 million people, 1.1 million cars and 21,000 trucks cross Swiss borders every day. Each day customs officers discover an average 118 counterfeit products, 3kgs of drugs, 10 prohibited weapons and 58 fugitives from justice.

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