Rome: A gang of drug dealers in Tuscany was left aghast after discovering that a stash of cocaine they buried carefully in the woods had been dug up by a herd of wild boar.

A wild boar in Europe. Credit:AP

The animals managed to rip open the waterproof packages in which the cocaine was kept, scattering €20,000 ($32,000) worth of the white powder across the forest floor.

The unusual "bust" came to light when police tapped the telephones of a suspected drug-trafficking gang - consisting of an Italian and three Albanians. One of the men was recorded furiously reporting the loss of the cocaine to a fellow gang member, telling him the drugs were ruined.

The cocaine was stashed in a forest in the Chiana Valley, near Arezzo, far from prying eyes. The gang would return to it from time to time to replenish their supplies.