Taipei prosecutors yesterday confiscated nearly 18,000 cases of Red Bull Energy Drink imported from Austria after it was found that the popular drink contained small traces of cocaine.
Taipei prosecutors and agents from the Investigation Bureau yesterday morning seized 17,165 cases of Red Bull Energy Drink — worth about NT$25 million (US$781,000) — from importer Nanlien International Co in Taoyuan and Kaohsiung. Each case contains 24 cans.
Nanlien International has imported the beverage since 2005. The energy drink contains taunne (a stimulant), caffeine and vitamins.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The confiscated cases were part of a shipment that arrived from Austria last month. Parts of the shipment were intended for retailers and department stores, the bureau said.
Company officials said they were unaware the drinks contained cocaine.
The bureau said some of the products had already made it to market. Prosecutors ordered that the products be pulled from the shelves at convenience stores nationwide pending further investigation.
Cocaine is a Category 1 drug in Taiwan. Manufacturing, transporting and selling it is a criminal offense punishable by death or life imprisonment.
Prosecutors said they made the move yesterday after the National Bureau of Controlled Drugs on Thursday tested Red Bull Energy Drink and found traces of cocaine. The test was conducted following reports that German authorities had recently discovered that energy drinks imported by an Austrian company named Red Bull Asia FZE contained slight traces of cocaine.
Earlier last week, several German states told retailers to stop selling Red Bull Cola energy drinks after tests by the authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia state found 0.4mg per liter in the drink.
Red Bull said its cola was “harmless and marketable in both the US and Europe,” adding that similar coca leaf extracts are used worldwide as flavoring. Its own tests found no traces of cocaine, it said.
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