Edition O'024

Drug News Roundup

Thursday, September 17, 2026 · 10 stories

Covering reporting published since the Sept 16 edition, roughly Sept 15-17, with a few incident dates running back to Sept 10-11 where reporting lagged. The dominant federal story today is not a seizure but a policy document: the White House's annual presidential drug-certification determination for fiscal year 2027, announced Sept 16, which removed Venezuela from the list of countries judged to have 'failed demonstrably' on counternarcotics while keeping Colombia and Bolivia on it. No new SOUTHCOM/JTF-WHEM lethal strike or vessel interdiction was confirmed since the refueling-vessel takedown already logged in the Sept 16 edition; a Sept 17 aggregator item citing '68 strikes' and an August death toll appears to recycle stale figures inconsistent with the 69-strikes/230-deaths count already logged Sept 10, so it was excluded. A Pinellas County, Florida cocaine-ring press conference and a Colombia 1,918 kg marijuana highway seizure both surfaced in searches but were dropped as stale, dating to July 14 and Sept 13 respectively and, in the Colombia case, overlapping with hauls already logged Sept 13. A Wilmington, Delaware fentanyl case was dropped after search results returned contradictory dates and quantities for what appears to be the same underlying arrest, and a Timmins, Ontario raid was excluded for lacking any reportable drug-quantity detail. A DEA-announced Ecuador cocaine interdiction (3,284 kg) was also dropped because the agency's own post did not specify a date or location, making it too underdetermined to write confidently.

1National / Federal (US)

US drug-certification report delists Venezuela while keeping Colombia and Bolivia on the 'failed' list

Washington, D.C.

President Trump sent Congress the annual presidential determination on major drug-transit and drug-producing countries for fiscal year 2027 on Sept 16, naming 23 countries overall but removing Venezuela from the subset judged to have 'failed demonstrably' to meet counternarcotics commitments — citing the January capture of Nicolás Maduro, cooperation from interim president Delcy Rodríguez's government, and the killing of Tren de Aragua leader 'Niño Guerrero.' Colombia and Bolivia remained on the failed list despite each government touting recent gains — Bogotá cited more than 17,000 arrests and 75,000+ kg of seized drugs since taking office, La Paz cited the March extradition of trafficker Sebastián Marset — with Trump saying he would reconsider both within a year if eradication and cooperation improve.

SourceInfobae Colombia / U.S. Department of State

Pixel-art scene: suspect flown out for prosecution — suspect flown out for prosecution

Federal raid in Terra Bella, California dismantles a methamphetamine conversion lab run by three Mexican nationals

100 lbs meth (45 kg)Terra Bella, California3 arrested

Homeland Security Task Force agents and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California announced Sept 16 that a Sept 11 raid on a property in Terra Bella, Tulare County, broke up a methamphetamine conversion operation, seizing about 100 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, hundreds of gallons of meth in liquid solution, six firearms and roughly $600,000 in cash. Jose Diarte-Perez, 46, and Carlos Beltran-Ochoa, 27, face conspiracy to manufacture and traffic methamphetamine and firearms charges, while a third man, Lamberto Elorza-Chavez, 39, was charged as an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

SourceGV Wire

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 100 lbs meth (45 kg) — 5 × 10 kg ≈ 45 kg meth

2Local US Arrests

Downtown Los Angeles 'stash house' bust nets nearly 100 pounds of fentanyl and a pet alligator

93.9 lbs fentanylLos Angeles, California2 arrested

Federal agents searching a luxury downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept 10 found what officials called a drug-manufacturing setup, seizing about 93.9 pounds of fentanyl pills and powder, nearly 16 pounds of cocaine and 2.2 pounds of heroin alongside lab equipment, a hydraulic pill press, an AR-15 rifle and a gold-plated .50-caliber pistol; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents separately removed a small alligator kept in the apartment. Marvin Angelito, 27, was detained and Susan Gonzalez, 26, was released on $15,000 bond; both face federal fentanyl-distribution charges carrying up to life in prison.

SourceNBC Los Angeles

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 93.9 lbs fentanyl — 9 × 5 kg ≈ 43 kg fentanyl

Sheboygan, Wisconsin police call a monthlong probe the end of a 'prolific' trafficker's run

4 lbs cocaine, 10 lbs cannabisSheboygan, Wisconsin1 arrested

Sheboygan Police executed search warrants at four properties on Sept 15 following a monthslong investigation, arresting a 34-year-old man described by police as a 'prolific' drug trafficker. Officers seized more than four pounds of cocaine, ten pounds of marijuana and nearly thirteen ounces of methamphetamine along with multiple firearms and a vehicle, putting the combined haul's value above $100,000.

SourceFox 6 Milwaukee / Sheboygan Police

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 4 lbs cocaine, 10 lbs cannabis — 4.5 kg cannabis · 2 × 1 kg ≈ 1.8 kg cocaine

3South America

Brazilian police coordinate raids across 19 states, arresting 101 people and freezing roughly $94 million in assets

11 kg cocaine, 90 kg cannabis19 states, Brazil101 arrested

Brazil's Federal Police, Federal Highway Police and state forces carried out 'Operação Força Integrada IV' on Sept 16, executing 173 search warrants in 19 states against groups accused of drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, extortion and homicide. The sweep produced 101 arrests, seized 11 kilograms of cocaine and 90 kilograms of marijuana along with seven firearms, and froze more than R$508 million (about $94 million) in assets — including R$412.5 million tied to a transnational trafficking and money-laundering ring targeted in Tocantins state; two deaths were reported during the operations.

SourceO Tempo / Polícia Federal

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 11 kg cocaine, 90 kg cannabis — 4 × 25 kg ≈ 90 kg cannabis · 11 × 1 kg cocaine

Argentine Prefectura tracks a nighttime river crossing to seize 115 kilos of marijuana on the Paraná

115 kg cannabisCorpus, Misiones, Argentina

Using thermal cameras, Argentina's Naval Prefecture spotted a motorboat crossing the Paraná River from Paraguay into Corpus, Misiones province, on Sept 16 and intercepted more than 115 kilograms of marijuana as part of the 'Plan Paraná' anti-trafficking effort run with the National Security Ministry.

SourceArgentina.gob.ar

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 115 kg cannabis — 5 × 25 kg ≈ 115 kg cannabis

4Rest of World

Thai police raid a Roi Et safe house, seizing nearly 58,000 methamphetamine pills tied to a Laos-supplied network

57,934 meth pillsRoi Et, Thailand2+ arrested

Provincial Police Region 4 officers raided a house in Kaset Wisai district, Roi Et province, on Sept 15, arresting a 24-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman and seizing 57,934 methamphetamine pills, a small quantity of crystal meth, three handguns and assets worth more than 1 million baht. Police said the male suspect sourced pills several hundred thousand at a time from a supplier in Laos and distributed them two to three times a month; more than ten other network members were also taken into custody.

SourceKhaosod English

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 57,934 meth pills — plus the tablets

Mexico's Navy says 2026 cocaine seizures at sea are already 47% above all of last year

Mexico (Pacific coast)

Mexico's Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) reported this week that its patrols intercepted roughly 37.8 tonnes of cocaine between January 1 and Sept 10, 2026 — about 12 tonnes more than all of 2025 — mostly in Pacific waters tied to shipments linked to the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels. The Navy said the year's operations also seized 26 vessels, one low-profile boat and 54 outboard motors, and detained 86 people.

SourceInfobae México

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

Cebu City buy-bust nets a 19-year-old shabu seller and seven packs of methamphetamine

Cebu City, Philippines1 arrested

Philippine police arrested a 19-year-old unemployed resident of Barangay Calamba in a buy-bust operation on Tres de Abril Street, Barangay Labangon, Cebu City on the night of Sept 15, seizing seven packs of suspected shabu (crystal methamphetamine) with an estimated market value of more than 1.19 million pesos.

SourceManila Bulletin

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

5Ongoing Stories with New Developments

Los Tiguerones' alleged Colombia-based leader is extradited to a maximum-security prison in Ecuador

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Ecuador's Interior Ministry confirmed Sept 16 that Guido Fernando Rodríguez Vargas — known as 'Comandante 7' or alias '07,' the alleged top leader of the Ecuadorian gang Los Tiguerones — arrived in Guayaquil after being expelled from Colombia, where he was captured Sept 11 in Armenia on an Interpol red notice, a capture logged in this roundup's Sept 12 edition. He was immediately transferred to the maximum-security 'Cárcel del Encuentro' in Santa Elena province.

SourceEl Diario (Ecuador)

2026 Running Tally

Total weight intercepted across every story covered so far this year, through Sep 17, 2026. Counts seizures only — sentencings and indictments are not double-counted — and resets to zero each 1 January. Earlier years are kept below.

114 t 24 editions · 52 places · 14 substances

United States

Puerto Rico1 substance3.3 t

cocaine3.3 t

Texas4 substances1.6 t

methamphetamine1.4 t
cocaine251 kg
heroin16 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

California5 substances99 kg

methamphetamine46 kg
fentanyl43 kg
cocaine9.5 kg
heroin1 kg
mdma68 g

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

Wisconsin3 substances6.7 kg

cannabis4.5 kg
cocaine1.8 kg
methamphetamine370 g

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

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 substances17.9 t

cannabis15.1 t
cocaine2.6 t
coca base84 kg
hashish40 kg

Colombia4 substances16.0 t

cocaine9.8 t
cannabis5.5 t
coca base684 kg
heroin15 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 substances1.3 t

cannabis946 kg
cocaine321 kg

Venezuela1 substance905 kg

cannabis905 kg

Peru2 substances698 kg

cocaine448 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 substances15 kg

mdma6.9 kg
fentanyl3.1 kg
cocaine2.5 kg
methamphetamine2.2 kg
cannabis479 g

Philippines1 substance3.9 kg

methamphetamine3.9 kg