This image released by Fribourg cantonal police on Friday, May 6, 2022, shows a shipment containing cocaine seized in the Swiss town of Romont on May 2. Police say an investigation is under way after workers at a Nespresso factory in western Switzerland happened upon a stash of over 1,100 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of about 50 million francs, as they unloaded coffee beans that had arrived by train.

GENEVA — Swiss police say an investigation is underway after workers at a Nespresso warehouse in western Switzerland found over 1,100 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of $50 million, as they unloaded coffee beans that had arrived by train.

Regional police in Fribourg said late Thursday, May 5, they were alerted May 2 by the company to the discovery at the facility in the town of Romont and immediately set up a “broad security perimeter” around it with a large deployment of officers. Customs and border control agents were called in.

Early indications were that the shipment turned up in five containers that had arrived by sea from Brazil before being transferred onto a train, authorities said.

“The cocaine seized has an 80% degree of purity and its market value is estimated at more than 50 million francs,” the police said, adding that the stash appeared “destined for the European market.”

On May 6, the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol and the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported that cocaine availability in Europe “is probably at an all-time high.”

Switzerland is not an EU member but is part of the Schengen zone that allows for visa-free travel among many European countries.

The monitoring center said it estimates the EU cocaine retail market was worth at least $11.1 billion in 2020, while cautioning that the figure was likely to underestimate the true size of the market.

It said the largest quantities of cocaine are seized in Belgian, Dutch and Spanish ports, but increasing amounts are turning up at ports elsewhere “suggesting that trafficking groups are extending their activities to ports where cocaine interdiction measures may be perceived as less intensive.”

Swiss food and drinks giant Nestle, which owns Nespresso, sought to reassure customers that “all our products are safe to consume.”

“We have strict quality controls in place for green coffee arriving at our warehouses right up to the finished product,” the Vevey, Switzerland-based company said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. “The substance in question did not come into contact with any of our products or production equipment used to make our products.”

Nestle said it could not provide more details because of the ongoing police investigation.

US mortgage rates rise; 30-year at 5.27%, highest since 2009

WASHINGTON — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates resumed their ascent last week, as the key 30-year loan reached its highest point since 2009.

The increases came in the week preceding the widely anticipated action by the Federal Reserve, announced Wednesday, May 4, to intensify its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by raising its benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point and signaling further large rate hikes to come. The Fed’s move, its most aggressive since 2000, will bring higher costs for mortgages as well as credit cards, auto loans and other borrowing for individuals and businesses.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported May 5 that the 30-year rate rose to 5.27% from 5.1% last week, when it edged down after seven weeks of increases. By contrast, the average rate stood at 2.96% a year ago.

The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those refinancing their homes, jumped to 4.52% from 4.4% last week.

With inflation at a four-decade high, rising mortgage rates, elevated home prices and tight supply of homes for sale, homeownership has become less attainable, especially for first-time buyers.

Some economists suggest that home sales this year could decline as much as 10% from 2021 levels.

In a statement following their two-day meeting, Fed policymakers noted that Russia’s invasion and war on Ukraine is worsening inflation pressures by raising oil and food prices. Inflation, according to the Fed’s preferred gauge, reached 6.6% last month, the highest in four decades. It has been accelerated by a combination of robust consumer spending, chronic supply bottlenecks and sharply higher gas and food prices.