Twelve soldiers guarding the World Economic Forum returned positive drug tests after colleagues in their unit raised the alarm

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Some Swiss soldiers tasked with guarding the gathering of the world’s rich and powerful at the ski resort of Davos have been sent home after they reportedly tested positive for cocaine use.

Twelve on-duty soldiers had tested positive on Tuesday for cannabis and five of them had also used cocaine, army spokesman Stefan Hofer told the ATS news agency.

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The twelve, among some 4,500 soldiers brought in to ensure security at the World Economic Forum this week, had been tested after others in their unit raised the alarm.

Using drug-sniffing dogs, military police had also discovered that one of the soldiers had more than three grammes of cocaine in his possession, according to the report.

That soldier was sent home and will face criminal charges, according to the army spokesman.

The other troops who tested positive for cocaine were also sent home and will face sanctions, while those who had only smoked cannabis were allowed to remain in Davos, but would face disciplinary measures on site, ATS reported.

The soldiers were all in the same unit, made up of troops essentially from the southern Swiss cantons of Ticino and Graubunden.