14 DAY TRIAL // German customs officials have seized a suspicious package sent to the Vatican from a South American country and found that it contained 14 condoms filled with drugs.
The box, which hid 340 grams (12 ounces) of liquid cocaine, was seized in January at the international airport in the eastern city of Leipzig. The value of the drugs was estimated at £33,000 ($54,000 / €39,000).
The Independent says that the cocaine was discovered inside a shipment of cushions coming from an unnamed South American country and addressed to the main postal centre at the Vatican.
Following the unusual discovery, German authorities set up a sting operation with the help of Vatican police in an attempt to lay a trap and catch the intended recipient, but no one claimed the delivery. Police believes the person was tipped off about the operation, so the box had remained there since January.
The Vatican office of Interpol and German police are still investigating the case.
The news about this unusual interception sparked a lot of controversy and people started to speculate about the intended recipient of the shipment. But the fact that the parcel was simply addressed to the Vatican postal office means that it could have been collected by any resident of the city state.