BERLIN (Reuters) - German customs unwittingly auctioned a car containing 22 pounds of cocaine, the Customs Investigation Authority (ZFA) in the northern city of Hamburg said on Tuesday.
The Chevrolet estate was originally imported from Mexico and impounded in 1997 after an X-ray revealed it was carrying 120 pounds of the drug. But that wasn't all.
"The software used to scan the car in 1997 was not sophisticated enough to pick up the other 10 kilograms," said Hamburg ZFA spokesman Robert Duetsch.
The car sat in storage until being auctioned off last month, whereupon the new owner discovered 11 bags of the white powder stashed in the boot, each weighing around 900 grams.
The man immediately returned to customs with the drugs, which Duetsch said would have had a street value of some $564,000 in 1997.
The Chevrolet estate was originally imported from Mexico and impounded in 1997 after an X-ray revealed it was carrying 120 pounds of the drug. But that wasn't all.
"The software used to scan the car in 1997 was not sophisticated enough to pick up the other 10 kilograms," said Hamburg ZFA spokesman Robert Duetsch.
The car sat in storage until being auctioned off last month, whereupon the new owner discovered 11 bags of the white powder stashed in the boot, each weighing around 900 grams.
The man immediately returned to customs with the drugs, which Duetsch said would have had a street value of some $564,000 in 1997.
