Authorities in France said two men who were supposed to be giving a Vatican vehicle a tune-up instead used the car to smuggle pot and cocaine to Spain.
Investigators said Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, 91, turned the vehicle over to two Italian men, ages 30 and 41, to give it a tune-up last week, but the men instead used the official car, which bears diplomatic license plates, to drive to Spain and pick up 8.8 pounds of cocaine and nearly half a pound of marijuana.
The men were busted by French customs officers Sunday in Chambery as they headed for the border with Switzerland and Italy. The diplomatic plates did not stop officers from conducting a routine search of the vehicle and discovering the drugs.
Authorities said the men claimed they were Vatican chauffeurs and had no knowledge of the cargo.
Police said neither man holds a Vatican passport and the Catholic Church is not implicated in the case.
Source: UPI