A Coca-Cola employee has been charged with stealing confidential information and trying to pass it to arch-rival PepsiCo. Prosecutors in the US have charged three people - the employee and two friends - with fraud along with stealing and selling trade secrets, which included a sample of a new drink, reports Just-Drinks.com.

Coke learned of the theft and the attempted sale of the "very detailed and confidential information" from PepsiCo, which was approached in May by an individual claiming to be a high-level Coke employee.

Pepsi received a letter from the individual, who called himself 'Dirk', and passed it on to Coke, which immediately contacted the FBI. "We just did what any responsible company would do," a PepsiCo spokesman told Just-Drinks.com. "Competition has always been fierce but it must also be legal and fair."

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