According to a report from David Santiago for Expansión Política, Mexican authorities have arrested two people and seized a property in the Iztapalapa district of Mexico City, where fake Coke drinks were allegedly being manufactured and bottled in glass and plastic bottles with the brand’s logos.
Ulises Lara, a spokesperson for the capital’s attorney general’s office, explained that after an investigation was launched into the crime of concealment by reception, investigators located a property in the Santa Martha Acatitla Norte neighbourhood, where the boxes of fake Coke were found. “It was discovered that the property in question was possibly used to manufacture soft drinks with similar characteristics to a well-known cola brand. In addition, the place was possibly used as a warehouse to store the product,” Lara said in a media briefing.
During the search, nearly 130 plastic boxes were seized, each containing six 3-litre bottles of alleged cola, as well as around 797 additional boxes, each with 24 600-millilitre bottles ready to be filled. Four packages of soda, each with 12 glass bottles, were also seized. The property lacked any hygiene regulations for the manufacture of beverages, with some containers being refilled with tap water, and a plastic chair for the worker in charge of the task.
The crown caps and screw caps were stored in an outdoor container along with food and beverage residues. The empty boxes were stored in an outdoor yard, exposed to sunlight and weather conditions.
The two detainees were transferred to the corresponding authorities and will be presented before a judge in the case. The attorney general’s office also seized three vehicle license plates with valid theft reports, one from Jalisco and two from the State of Mexico, a GPS, a sedan, a motorcycle, and a delivery van for distributing the product.
