Cops have begun an investigation after what appeared to be human waste was found in drinks cans delivered to a Coca Cola factory.
The night shift at Lisburn`s Coca-Cola plant in Northern Ireland was disrupted last week when a container of cans thought to have arrived from Germany clogged up the machine.
Workers were left horrified to discover a number were filled with human waste.
"It was absolutely horrible, and the machines had to be turned off for about 15 hours to be cleaned," a source said. "It was unusual because normally the cans come from somewhere else in the UK, but this time they apparently came from Germany.
"The rumour is that some poor immigrants could have made that long journey in the lorry and that in their desperation were forced to use the cans instead of a toilet."
Workers said they found something "pretty disgusting" in the cans after the tins arrived at the factory without tops on, to be filled with the fizzy drink before being sealed.
"Detectives are investigating an incident at commercial premises in the Lisburn area following reports that a consignment of containers delivered to the premises had been contaminated," said a spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola said the company was aware of an incident involving empty cans at the Knockmore Hill plant.
"We are treating this matter extremely seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation in cooperation with the PSNI," said the spokesperson.
"The problem was identified immediately through our robust quality procedures and all of the product from the affected batch was immediately impounded and will not be sold.
"This is an isolated incident and does not affect any products currently on sale."The Food Standards Agency said its aware of contamination and the incident is "subject to investigation".
Source: Mirror