Edition O'022

Drug News Roundup

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 · 13 stories

Covering reporting published since the Sept 14 edition, roughly Sept 13-15, with several South American and Mexican incident dates running back to Sept 10-12 where reporting lagged. DEA's own press-release feed has posted nothing new since Sept 9 (already logged), so the federal section instead draws on DOJ U.S. Attorney's Office releases out of Arizona and New Jersey. A search for a possible new annual U.S. drug-certification 'majors list' turned out to be recirculated coverage of the September 2025 decision to decertify Colombia, not a new 2026 determination, so it was excluded. No new development surfaced on the SOUTHCOM boat-strike or refueling-vessel campaigns (nothing posted since the Sept 9 strike already logged), the Los Tiguerones case, Uruguay's Artigas airdrop case or Bolivia's aircraft-grounding crackdown, so the ongoing section is empty again.

1National / Federal (US)

Tucson grand jury indicts pill-press manufacturer accused of supplying clandestine labs nationwide

Tucson, Arizona3 charged

A federal grand jury in Tucson returned a six-count indictment on August 21 against LFA Machines DFW and three men tied to the Fort Worth company, and DEA agents made the arrests on September 9: principal managers Alastair Sanderson, 39, and William Norris, 43, and former employee Michael Packard, 36. A multi-year Homeland Security Task Force investigation traced LFA's tableting machines to clandestine drug labs across the country and built evidence that the men knowingly sold the equipment to buyers they had reason to believe would use it to manufacture illicit pills.

SourceDOJ / District of Arizona

Pixel-art scene: clandestine laboratory destroyed — clandestine laboratory destroyed

Newark grand jury indicts Jalisco cartel-linked broker moving cocaine from a Kansas City network

Newark, New Jersey2 charged

A federal grand jury in Newark charged Oscar Salvador Pelayo-Guzman, 55, a Mexican national prosecutors say is tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and a principal figure in a Kansas City-based trafficking organization, along with Michael Brandon Araiza, 27, of California, with conspiring since January 2025 to move cocaine into New Jersey. Both men were arraigned September 10 before U.S. District Judge Jamel K. Semper.

SourceDOJ / District of New Jersey

Pixel-art scene: charges filed in federal court — charges filed in federal court

2Local US Arrests

Savannah gang indictment surfaces 20 pounds of carfentanil shipped from Phoenix

9.1 kg carfentanilSavannah, Georgia6 charged

Georgia's Attorney General unsealed a 63-count racketeering indictment on September 14 against six alleged members of the Waters Avenue Crew, a Savannah street gang with ties to the Piru Bloods, accusing them of shipping carfentanil — an animal tranquilizer roughly 10,000 times more potent than morphine — from Phoenix via UPS and laundering proceeds through Cash App over more than two years. Investigators working with DEA offices in Savannah and Phoenix seized 20 pounds of the drug along with marijuana shipped in from California; Attorney General Chris Carr said the substance has "absolutely no uses for human beings."

SourceWTOC

Tazewell County sweep nets a three-drug haul, cash and 13 guns

5.3 kg methamphetamineTazewell County, Virginia5 arrested

A two-month, multi-agency investigation by the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office and police in Tazewell, Bluefield and Richlands ended September 14 with five arrests and the seizure of 11.6 pounds of methamphetamine, 6.67 ounces of cocaine and nearly 6 ounces of fentanyl, along with oxycodone, suboxone and gabapentin. Deputies also recovered 13 firearms, $35,376 in cash and two vehicles; Sheriff Brian Hieatt said the operation targeted people "bringing in large amounts of drugs" and distributing them locally.

SourceWVVA

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 5.3 kg methamphetamine — 5 × 1 kg ≈ 5.3 kg meth

3South America

Cartagena's port yields two cocaine seizures in a single day, one bound for Germany

144 kg cocaineCartagena, Colombia

Colombia's anti-narcotics police reported two separate finds at Cartagena's maritime terminal on September 14: 102 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride hidden inside 280 bags of construction mortar, and a further 41.8 kilograms concealed in the refrigeration unit of a container bound for Germany. Authorities said the combined seizures kept more than 360,000 doses off the market and cost trafficking networks close to 800 million pesos.

SourceEl Universal (Cartagena)

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 144 kg cocaine — 14 × 10 kg ≈ 144 kg cocaine

Colombian police intercept more than three tonnes of marijuana in back-to-back highway stops

3.2 t cannabisSibate and Pereira, Colombia

A mechanical breakdown led Cundinamarca police to a truck parked in Sibate on September 12 carrying about 1.4 tonnes of marijuana wrapped in plastic to evade detection, after a passing driver reported it; separately, police in Pereira seized another 1.79 tonnes. President Abelardo de la Espriella cited both hauls among the drug seizures and 19 arrests his government announced from a 24-hour sweep across several departments.

SourceEl Espectador / Pulzo

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 3.2 t cannabis — 13 × 250 kg cannabis

Record 3.6-tonne drug haul uncovered on a Rondônia rural property

3.6 t assorted drugsMonte Negro, Rondônia, Brazil3 arrested

Brazil's Federal Highway Police and Federal Police, backed by border and military police units from Rondônia and Acre, raided a rural property in Monte Negro on September 13 and found 3,375 kilograms of high-potency "skunk" marijuana, 185 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and 84 kilograms of cocaine paste — described as the largest single haul federal police have logged in the state. Three people were detained at the scene, along with a shotgun, ammunition, vehicles and more than R$40,000 in cash.

SourceFolha de Vilhena

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 3.6 t assorted drugs — 7 × 500 kg ≈ 3.6 t drugs

Argentina's Prefecture intercepts a rowboat carrying marijuana over the Paraná from Paraguay

324 kg cannabisMisiones, Argentina

Acting on intelligence about a cross-border run, Argentina's Naval Prefecture watched a rowboat carry two people and several packages from Paraguay to the Argentine bank of the Parana River near Arroyo Leon, in Misiones province, and moved in as it landed. Officers seized more than 324 kilograms of marijuana valued at roughly 1.24 billion pesos.

SourceArgentina.gob.ar

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 324 kg cannabis — 13 × 25 kg cannabis

Chilean police dismantle a Bolivia-to-Santiago marijuana pipeline in a Metropolitan Region raid

811 kg cannabisSan Bernardo, Chile4 arrested

Chile's PDI raided a storage facility in San Bernardo on September 13 as part of "Operation Pacto Andino IV," seizing 811 kilograms of cannabis that investigators said a criminal organization was smuggling in from Bolivia for distribution in the Santiago metropolitan area. Four people were detained, and police also recovered two vehicles and several cellphones.

SourceCooperativa.cl

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 811 kg cannabis — 32 × 25 kg cannabis

4Rest of World

Dominican authorities intercept a go-fast boat off Peravia carrying 595 packages of cocaine

Peravia, Dominican Republic3 arrested

Acting on a tip about a suspicious vessel approaching the coast, Dominican drug-control, navy and air force units, working with the U.S. DEA and a regional interagency task force, chased down a roughly 32-foot boat off Punta Salinas, in Peravia province, on September 13. Agents arrested its three crew members — two Colombians and a Venezuelan — and recovered 24 bales holding 595 packages of suspected cocaine, with the exact weight still pending lab analysis.

SourceInfobae Republica Dominicana

Pixel-art scene: smuggling vessel stopped at sea — smuggling vessel stopped at sea

Mexican forces seize 555 kg of methamphetamine and an explosives cache in a three-day security sweep

555 kg methamphetamineMichoacan and Colima, Mexico

Mexico's federal security cabinet reported that troops raided an unpaved-road site near Ocuaro, in Huetamo, Michoacan, between September 11 and 13, seizing 545 kilograms of methamphetamine and 16 kilograms of marijuana, while a separate customs interdiction at Toluca's international airport caught another 10 kilograms of methamphetamine that had originated in Morelia. In Colima, a parallel raid on two homes in Villa de Alvarez turned up rifles, handguns, ammunition and three improvised explosive devices, though no drugs or arrests were reported there.

SourceEleese Noticias (Gabinete de Seguridad)

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 555 kg methamphetamine — 6 × 100 kg ≈ 555 kg meth

Pakistan's ANF pulls heroin from a swallowed-capsule courier and a Baluchistan vehicle stash

28.3 kg heroinLahore and Dalbandin, Pakistan1 arrested

Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force arrested a passenger bound for Sharjah at Lahore airport after recovering 70 capsules of heroin, weighing 286 grams, from his abdomen, the agency reported September 15. In a separate operation near Dalbandin, in Chagai district, ANF personnel recovered 28 kilograms of crystal heroin hidden in an unattended vehicle; the two hauls were valued together at more than 367 million rupees.

SourceDaily Independent (Pakistan)

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 28.3 kg heroin — 28 × 1 kg heroin

South Africa logs a weighed N1 cocaine bust and a mystery R300 million Johannesburg haul

5 kg cocaineWestern Cape and Gauteng, South Africa1 arrested

Western Cape police stopped a driver on the N1 near Beaufort West on September 11 and found 57,000 Mandrax tablets and 5 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated R5.8 million, arresting the 46-year-old driver on dealing charges. Days later, a tip-off sent Honeydew police to a plot in Northriding, Johannesburg, where they seized cocaine valued at roughly R300 million and a Land Cruiser with false plates and an altered VIN number; no arrests have been made and the source of the haul remains under investigation.

SourceThe Citizen / The Bulrushes

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 5 kg cocaine — 5 × 1 kg cocaine

5Ongoing Stories with New Developments

Nothing significant in the past 24 hours.

2026 Running Tally

Total weight intercepted across every story covered so far this year, through Sep 15, 2026. Counts seizures only — sentencings and indictments are not double-counted — and resets to zero each 1 January. Earlier years are kept below.

113 t 22 editions · 51 places · 14 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 substances39 kg

cannabis20 kg
cocaine9.7 kg
fentanyl5 kg
methamphetamine4.2 kg

Minnesota2 substances28 kg

methamphetamine27 kg
cocaine883 g

Kentucky2 substances20 kg

methamphetamine20 kg
fentanyl60 g

Mississippi5 substances17 kg

cannabis9.5 kg
methamphetamine4.8 kg
cocaine3 kg
mdma140 g
fentanyl25 g

Georgia1 substance9.1 kg

carfentanil9.1 kg

South Carolina2 substances7.9 kg

fentanyl4.1 kg
methamphetamine3.8 kg

Missouri2 substances6 kg

cocaine3.5 kg
fentanyl2.5 kg

Virginia3 substances5.6 kg

methamphetamine5.3 kg
cocaine190 g
fentanyl170 g

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

California2 substances2.9 kg

cocaine2.2 kg
methamphetamine680 g

Nebraska2 substances2.4 kg

methamphetamine2.4 kg
cocaine17 g

Massachusetts2 substances2 kg

fentanyl1.7 kg
cocaine316 g

Ohio3 substances2 kg

cocaine2 kg
fentanyl10 g
heroin3 g

International

Mexico4 substances19.7 t

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

Brazil4 substances17.6 t

cannabis14.8 t
cocaine2.6 t
coca base84 kg
hashish40 kg

Colombia3 substances15.2 t

cocaine9.8 t
cannabis4.8 t
coca base684 kg

Spain2 substances14.6 t

hashish11.3 t
cocaine3.4 t

Ecuador2 substances10.7 t

cocaine9.8 t
cannabis900 kg

Nigeria3 substances7.0 t

cannabis7.0 t
methamphetamine2 kg
cocaine350 g

Portugal1 substance5.3 t

hashish5.3 t

France1 substance3.9 t

cocaine3.9 t

Chile2 substances2.7 t

cannabis2.7 t
cocaine7.2 kg

Indonesia1 substance2.6 t

methamphetamine2.6 t

Romania3 substances1.6 t

hashish1.3 t
cannabis228 kg
cocaine114 kg

Argentina2 substances1.2 t

cannabis831 kg
cocaine321 kg

Venezuela1 substance905 kg

cannabis905 kg

Peru2 substances614 kg

cocaine364 kg
coca base250 kg

Pakistan4 substances508 kg

hashish301 kg
heroin202 kg
opium2.4 kg
methamphetamine2 kg

Sri Lanka1 substance463 kg

methamphetamine463 kg

Uruguay2 substances408 kg

cocaine305 kg
coca base103 kg

Bolivia1 substance405 kg

cocaine405 kg

South Africa1 substance341 kg

cocaine341 kg

Costa Rica1 substance312 kg

cocaine312 kg

Thailand1 substance166 kg

methamphetamine166 kg

India5 substances154 kg

methamphetamine72 kg
cannabis45 kg
amphetamine17 kg
mdma14 kg
heroin5.7 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 substance3.9 kg

methamphetamine3.9 kg