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Soap, Dope — What’s the Difference?

Frenchman Jacques Benoit Fiocconi traveled to Catalonia, Spain, to pick up a load of 2,850 bars of soap from a factory there. Shortly after the pickup, he was pulled over. Police demanded to know what the cargo was. Soap, Fiocconi replied. But a “narcotest” showed it was cocaine, and Fiocconi was arrested. A lab test later confirmed it really was soap, not cocaine, but it took seven more weeks for the court to “accept the findings” and order Fiocconi’s release. Fiocconi demanded compensation for the wrongful arrest and the resulting 70 days of incarceration, saying he had 83,000 euros (US$89,600) worth of financial losses and “moral damages.” Spain’s Ministry of Justice instead awarded him 8,400 euros — 120 euros (US$129) per day, saying that was the “standard rate” it offers for wrongful imprisonment. (RC/London Telegraph) ...That sounds more like the rate for a mid-range hotel.