Police in Ireland launch probe after poop found in Coke cans

Police had launched an investigation after ''human waste'' was found in a shipment of Coke cans. Coca-Cola had confirmed, however, that none of the products on sale at the moment were affected. The gross find was made at the Knockmore Hill facility in Lisburn, Ireland.

A massive cleanup had been undertaken after the arrival of the shipment from a German supplier the Irish facility had not worked with previously.

A source told the Irish Independent that it was "absolutely horrible, and the machines had to be turned off for about 15 hours to be cleaned.

''It was unusual because normally the cans come from somewhere else in the UK, but this time they apparently came from Germany.''

The cans had reportedly come on truck from Germany and had been used by immigrants as a toilet on the long journey across Europe.

As the source told the paper, ''The rumour is that some poor immigrants could have made that long journey in the (truck) and … in their desperation were forced to use the cans instead of a toilet.

''It's really shocking - and beyond the shock of finding something pretty disgusting in the cans is the thought there could have been poor people in that situation.

The factory night shift was disrupted after workers discovered the waste when the machines became clogged. The Belfast Telegraph reported that the cans arrived at the factory without tops on, and were then filled with drink before they were sealed and sold across Northern Ireland.

Coca-Cola said: ''The problem was identified immediately through our robust quality procedures and all of the product from the affected production was immediately impounded and will not be sold.''