Italian Police are investigating how a tea shop in Genoa managed to legally import a Peruvian tea which was found to contain cocaine for years.

Authorities were only alerted after a 37-year-old bus driver named Roberto, tested positive for the drug during a routine test. Faced with the possibility of losing his job after a clean 10-year-record, the Genovese transport authority wanted to help investigate the possible cause of the positive drug test result to help him clear his name.

According to the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, Roberto had drunk an ethnic tea from Peru called "delisse alla coca" he purchased from a local specialty shop. He said that he drinks the tea in order to remain alert while driving long hours on the job. His doctor requested him to bring a few bags of the tea for testing and brew a batch for himself. The next day, he was tested and showed positive for cocaine.

They immediately contacted Italian authorities and further testing showed the tea to contain amounts of cocaine leaves and cocaine hydrochloride.

The shop owner who sold Roberto the tea had all the necessary documentation for the cocaine brew and reportedly had been purchasing them from a wholesaler in Milan for a number of years. Authorities are now investigating how it had gotten through Italian customs.

The tea has been pulled off the shelves and has been labeled as "potentially dangerous."

Meanwhile, in Peru, "delisse alla coca" is a popular drink enjoyed by tourists as well as farmers, especially from higher regions, who say it helps them fend of altitude sickness. The tea has also been used by some to wean cocaine addicts off the drug.

Coca tea is legal in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. In the United States, however, it is illegal unless it has been decocainized.  

Photo: Jo Simon | Flickr