Edition O'018

Drug News Roundup

Friday, September 11, 2026 · 10 stories

Covering reporting published since the Sept 10 edition, roughly Sept 10-11, with a few incident dates running back to Sept 7-9 where indexing lagged. South America again got dedicated effort in Spanish and Portuguese, turning up four distinct operations. Excluded as stale, duplicate, wrong-year or unconfirmed: a Nassau County, New York 312 kg cocaine bust that traces to February 2026; a US Coast Guard Cutter Diligence 8,700-lb cocaine offload and a San Antonio 500-lb methamphetamine railcar seizure that both turned out to be from September 2025; a widely recirculated '480 kg fentanyl, 2,209 kg meth' DEA-Sinaloa Cartel New England sweep that also dates to 2025; a Dayton, Ohio 11 kg fentanyl-and-cocaine safe seizure tied to a March 2026 search warrant; and an AFP 2.7-tonne Sydney cocaine bust (Operation Minjiang) already flagged in a prior edition as several weeks stale. No further development emerged in Uruguay's Artigas cocaine-airdrop case or the SOUTHCOM refueling-vessel campaign since the last edition.

1National / Federal (US)

Rubio's Latin America tour ends with Peru joining a new US-backed anti-trafficking coalition and Ecuador gaining a Coast Guard cutter

Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

Secretary of State Marco Rubio closed a week-long tour of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru on September 10 by announcing, alongside newly elected President Keiko Fujimori, that Peru has joined the 'Shield of the Americas' — a Trump administration-backed coalition of more than a dozen countries organized against drug trafficking and organized crime. In Ecuador, Rubio's visit produced a pledge to transfer a US Coast Guard Island-class cutter and five interceptor boats to the Ecuadorian Navy, adding to earlier US drone donations meant to help Quito track trafficking routes through the Pacific, and both countries said they had begun joint maritime operations against boats supplying traffickers. The trip's earlier stops in Bogotá and Quito focused on the same theme with Presidents Abelardo de la Espriella and Daniel Noboa.

SourceInfobae (New York Times) / Moncloa

2Local US Arrests

Texas — Nacogdoches County traffic stop turns up 100 pounds of cocaine, three arrested

45 kg cocaineNacogdoches County, Texas3 arrested

Nacogdoches County sheriff's deputies, aided by a newly certified K-9, stopped a vehicle on September 10 and found roughly 100 pounds of cocaine, about 45 kilograms, inside. Andre Nelson, 65, of Georgia; Antonio Colon, 46, of Illinois; and Latrisha Crims, 32, of Humble, Texas, were each charged with first-degree delivery of a controlled substance.

SourceKLTV

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 45 kg cocaine — 4 × 10 kg ≈ 45 kg cocaine

3South America

Colombia and the Netherlands intercept 297 kg of cocaine off La Guajira, four Venezuelans captured

297 kg cocaineLa Guajira, Colombia4 arrested

Colombia's Navy, working with a Dutch military patrol aircraft and the National Police, intercepted a go-fast boat in Caribbean waters off La Guajira department on September 10 and seized 297 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride valued at more than $13 million. Four Venezuelan nationals aboard the vessel were captured.

Source724 Noticias

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 297 kg cocaine — 30 × 10 kg cocaine

Ecuador seizes 200 kg of cocaine hidden in a banana shipment bound for Morocco

200 kg cocainePosorja, Ecuador

Ecuadorian police inspecting a truck on the road between Guayaquil and the port of Posorja on September 10 found 200 packages of cocaine hydrochloride, weighing about 200 kilograms, hidden in eight suitcases stashed among an export banana shipment. The cocaine, valued at roughly $6 million, was headed for the port of Tangier, Morocco.

SourceExtra.ec

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 200 kg cocaine — 20 × 10 kg cocaine

Colombia's Navy and Brazil's Federal Police seize 4.5 tonnes of marijuana and machine guns on the Amazon River

4.5 t marijuanaCodajás, Amazonas, Brazil

Acting on a Colombian intelligence tip, Colombia's Navy and Air Force worked with Brazil's Federal Police to intercept a speedboat fitted with six outboard motors near Codajás, on the Amazon River in Brazilian territory, on September 10. Investigators believe the boat originated in the tri-border area shared by Colombia, Brazil and Peru; it was carrying 4.5 tonnes of high-potency marijuana along with two M60 machine guns, three AK-47 rifles and ammunition. Authorities valued the haul at more than $47 million and reported no arrests.

SourceInfobae

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 4.5 t marijuana — 18 × 250 kg marijuana

Argentina's Gendarmería seizes cocaine, cannabis and coca leaf in four Salta and Jujuy operations in a single day

128 kg cocaine, 117 kg cannabisSalta and Jujuy, Argentina4 arrested

Gendarmería Nacional ran four stops on September 10. On Route 34 in Jujuy province, agents found about 66 kilograms of cocaine during a vehicle stop near La Chaqueta and another 117 kilograms of cannabis in a package check near Chalicán, arresting two people. On Route 50 near Orán, Salta, gendarmes seized roughly 84 kilograms of coca leaf from a vehicle whose occupants were detained after the driver injured an officer, and separately found 62 kilograms of cocaine abandoned by three men who fled on foot near Río Pescado.

SourceArgentina.gob.ar

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 128 kg cocaine, 117 kg cannabis — 13 × 10 kg cocaine · 5 × 25 kg ≈ 117 kg cannabis

4Rest of World

French customs seize nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine hidden in plastic waste at the port of Dunkirk

3.9 t cocaineDunkirk, France

French customs officers opened a shipping container that had arrived from Ghana at the port of Dunkirk on September 7 and found 167 bales of cocaine, weighing close to 3.9 tonnes, concealed inside plastic waste; the container was booked to continue on to Antwerp. Officials valued the seizure, one of the largest ever made at a French port, at about €225 million and destroyed the cocaine. France's national anti-organized-crime prosecutor's office opened an investigation, but no arrests were reported.

SourceCNews / French Customs

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 3.9 t cocaine — 39 × 100 kg cocaine

India — Mizoram police seize meth and heroin in four operations near the Myanmar border, six held

17.6 kg methamphetamineMizoram, India6 arrested

Police and excise-and-narcotics officers ran four operations around the Saitual, Champhai and Kolasib districts of Mizoram on September 10, seizing a combined 17.6 kilograms of methamphetamine tablets and 141 grams of heroin worth more than 14 crore rupees (roughly $1.7 million). Six people were arrested, including five Myanmar nationals.

SourcePunjab Kesari

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 17.6 kg methamphetamine — 18 × 1 kg ≈ 18 kg meth

Europol dismantles the 'Dubai Bank' hawala network that laundered European drug profits

Spain / United Arab Emirates21 arrested

Spain's National Police, backed by Europol, announced on September 8 the results of a long-running investigation into 'Dubai Bank,' an underground hawala-style money-transfer network that moved criminal cash — much of it drug-trafficking proceeds — across borders without the funds ever touching the formal banking system. The operation has produced 21 arrests, including four in the United Arab Emirates, one in Egypt and one in the Netherlands, and authorities have seized or frozen about €20 million in assets, among them 48 properties and 121 bank accounts.

SourceEuropol

Pixel-art scene: raid and arrests — raid and arrests

5Ongoing Stories with New Developments

Mexico's Guerrero meth-lab campaign reaches Atoyac with another 166 kg seized

166 kg methamphetamineAtoyac de Álvarez, Guerrero, Mexico

Days after the Mexican Navy dismantled three clandestine labs in Zirándaro and Coahuayutla, the Army destroyed another methamphetamine lab on September 9 in the El Refugio community of Atoyac de Álvarez, in Guerrero's Costa Grande region, seizing about 166 kilograms of methamphetamine, 200 liters of precursor chemicals and nine synthesis reactors. Authorities estimated the hit to trafficking organizations at more than 3.1 billion pesos.

SourceQuadratín Guerrero

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 166 kg methamphetamine — 17 × 10 kg ≈ 166 kg meth

2026 Running Tally

Total weight intercepted across every story covered so far this year, through Sep 11, 2026. Counts seizures only — sentencings and indictments are not double-counted — and resets to zero each 1 January. Earlier years are kept below.

98.8 t 18 editions · 47 places · 13 substances

United States

Puerto Rico1 substance3.3 t

cocaine3.3 t

Texas3 substances1.6 t

methamphetamine1.3 t
cocaine228 kg
cannabis1.8 kg

Illinois1 substance532 kg

khat532 kg

New York3 substances284 kg

cocaine277 kg
fentanyl7.5 kg
fentanyl/heroin250 g

Indiana1 substance126 kg

cocaine126 kg

Pennsylvania1 substance113 kg

cannabis113 kg

Florida4 substances36 kg

cannabis19 kg
cocaine9.6 kg
fentanyl5 kg
methamphetamine2.8 kg

Minnesota2 substances28 kg

methamphetamine27 kg
cocaine883 g

Kentucky2 substances20 kg

methamphetamine20 kg
fentanyl60 g

South Carolina2 substances7.9 kg

fentanyl4.1 kg
methamphetamine3.8 kg

Missouri2 substances6 kg

cocaine3.5 kg
fentanyl2.5 kg

North Dakota2 substances5.6 kg

methamphetamine5.4 kg
cocaine155 g

West Virginia3 substances4.8 kg

methamphetamine3.6 kg
fentanyl909 g
cocaine233 g

Tennessee3 substances4.7 kg

fentanyl2.2 kg
methamphetamine2 kg
cocaine500 g

Alabama3 substances3.3 kg

methamphetamine2.3 kg
cocaine1 kg
fentanyl21 g

Nebraska2 substances2.4 kg

methamphetamine2.4 kg
cocaine17 g

Ohio1 substance2 kg

cocaine2 kg

Massachusetts2 substances1.4 kg

fentanyl1.3 kg
cocaine98 g

California1 substance680 g

methamphetamine680 g

International

Mexico4 substances19.1 t

methamphetamine17.2 t
cannabis1.8 t
fentanyl9.1 kg
heroin7.7 kg

Spain2 substances14.6 t

hashish11.3 t
cocaine3.4 t

Brazil3 substances13.6 t

cannabis11.1 t
cocaine2.4 t
hashish40 kg

Ecuador2 substances10.7 t

cocaine9.8 t
cannabis900 kg

Colombia3 substances9.1 t

cocaine6.8 t
cannabis1.6 t
coca base684 kg

Nigeria3 substances6.9 t

cannabis6.9 t
methamphetamine2 kg
cocaine350 g

Portugal1 substance5.3 t

hashish5.3 t

France1 substance3.9 t

cocaine3.9 t

Indonesia1 substance2.6 t

methamphetamine2.6 t

Romania3 substances1.6 t

hashish1.3 t
cannabis228 kg
cocaine114 kg

Venezuela1 substance905 kg

cannabis905 kg

Argentina2 substances779 kg

cannabis507 kg
cocaine271 kg

Peru2 substances614 kg

cocaine364 kg
coca base250 kg

Sri Lanka1 substance463 kg

methamphetamine463 kg

Uruguay2 substances408 kg

cocaine305 kg
coca base103 kg

Pakistan3 substances405 kg

hashish230 kg
heroin173 kg
opium2.4 kg

Bolivia1 substance405 kg

cocaine405 kg

South Africa1 substance336 kg

cocaine336 kg

Chile2 substances310 kg

cannabis302 kg
cocaine7.2 kg

Thailand1 substance166 kg

methamphetamine166 kg

India5 substances146 kg

methamphetamine65 kg
cannabis45 kg
amphetamine17 kg
mdma14 kg
heroin5.3 kg

Hong Kong2 substances141 kg

cocaine76 kg
ketamine65 kg

Afghanistan1 substance101 kg

opium101 kg

Malaysia3 substances98 kg

methamphetamine86 kg
mdma11 kg
ketamine630 g

Ireland2 substances26 kg

cocaine22 kg
cannabis4 kg

Italy1 substance17 kg

methamphetamine17 kg

Canada5 substances13 kg

mdma6.9 kg
fentanyl3.1 kg
methamphetamine2.2 kg
cocaine481 g
cannabis479 g

Philippines1 substance3.7 kg

methamphetamine3.7 kg