We are all attracted to smuggling, just a little bit, aren’t we?

Tales of the Cornish coastline in England abound with stories of romantic tales of smuggling.

Many a film will glamorise smuggling precious goods.

So when we think of smuggling, what sort of valuables do we think are being moved around?

Precious stones?

Gold?

Silver?

Drugs?

Perhaps.

But there have been recent stories in the news about a new sort of smuggling.

What is it?

The smuggling of coffee.

This all goes to show what a valuable commodity the substance is in our modern times.

So what is the story?

In Bosnia, it is said that eleven officials in Customs have been arrested.

Why?

They have been accused of permitting large quantities of coffee into the country, amounting to some 3,000 tonnes involving over 130 trucks.

This alleged crime has been carried out over a period of time   from 2009 to 2011 and involved green (ie. unroasted) coffee.

The smugglers falsely declared that they were carrying expanded clay.

This could amount to around 4.5 million euros.

It remains to be seen how this situation plays out.

However, it is significant that coffee is deemed to be such a valuable substance.