Fourteen condoms filled with cocaine were part of a package headed to the Vatican in January, whose shipment got intercepted by German customs officials, the finance ministry said on Sunday.
According to the Associated Press, in a shipment of cushions coming from South America, officers at Leipzig found 12 ounces of the drug tightly-packaged into 14 condoms, weekly Bild am Sonntag cited in their report.
Posted from an unnamed South American country, a box packed with 340 grams of cocaine valued at 40,000 euros ($55,200) was in liquid form, a ministry spokesman told Agence France-Presse.
Seized at the international airport in the eastern city of Leipzig, it was unclear on who the package belonged to. Briefly addressed to the Vatican postal office, the cocaine could have been sent to any of the Catholic mini-state's 800 residents.
"The paper reported that a subsequent sting operation arranged with Vatican police failed to nab the intended recipient. No one claimed the package, indicating that he or she was tipped off about the plan," the AP reported.
The report was confirmed by a spokesman for the German Finance Ministry, which oversees the customs office.
"I can confirm the incident as reported," the spokesman said in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "But we cannot say anything more about the case," he added, claiming that the local prosecutors would handle the case from thereon.
Prosecutors in Leipzig planned to issue a statement Monday providing further details, Martin Chaudhuri told the AP.
It was confirmed by Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, that to identify and catch the traffickers, the Vatican police was working with the German police. He said the investigation would remain open, the AP reported.
The Vatican office of Interpol is also working on the investigation with the Leipzig prosecutor's office, according to AFP. They couldn't be reached for comments.
