Wild boars eat, destroy $22,000 worth of high-grade cocaine stashed by gangsters in forest
A stash of cocaine worth €20,000 ($21,838) hidden in a forest in the Tuscan countryside in Italy by bumbling gangsters was apparently plowed over by a sounder of wild boars.
Police who had been wiretapping the gangsters' phones reportedly heard them furiously complaining about their haul of the precious white powder, after some of it was devoured by the animals and the rest scattered across leaves, The Daily Mail reports.
The mobsters, including one Italian and three Albanians, had reportedly stashed the cocaine in jars. However, it wasn't enough to protect it from swine who were sniffing through the countryside.
Roughly two kilos of cocaine were allegedly trafficked by the gang from the valley of Valdichiana into bars and clubs in the cities of Arezzo and Siena every month.
In order to be discreet about the drugs, the dealers used a code to refer to them that was easily deciphered by police later on. The code apparently included words such as "aperitivo, prosecco, vino and caffè."
The mobsters traded in high-grade cocaine of maximum purity and charged £85 ($110) per gram, according to local outlet Il Tirreno, and the smuggling operation lasted from September 2018 to March 2019 before being busted.
Two of the crooks were sent to prison, and the rest two were placed under house arrest, per Toscana Media News.
A 21-year-old Albanian was murdered in May last year, thereby sparking a full-blown investigation.
That said, it is yet to be established what happened to the wild boars that dug up and consumed the drugs.
Italy is currently facing a wild boar crisis, with millions destroying crops and property. The problem is so critical that the national farmers' union has petitioned the government to actively cull their numbers.
"It is no longer just a question of compensation but a matter of personal safety and it must be resolved," said Ettore Prandini, president of farming association Coldiretti.
"Ministries and leaders of regions and municipalities must act in a concerted manner to draw up an extraordinary plan without administrative obstacles, otherwise the problem is destined to get worse," he added.
Official numbers of the wild boar population are close to two million. They have reportedly doubled since 2015 and are deemed responsible for 10,000 road accidents every year.