Edition O'025

Drug News Roundup

Friday, September 18, 2026 · 13 stories

Covering reporting published since the Sept 17 edition, roughly Sept 16-18, with a couple of incident dates running back to Sept 11-13 where reporting lagged. No new lethal SOUTHCOM/JTF-WHEM strike was found; the standing cumulative tally remains 69 strikes and at least 230 deaths as of the Sept 10 count already logged, but a second non-lethal Los Choneros refueling-vessel interdiction (Sept 16, following the Sept 15 one logged yesterday) is new and included in federal. A Pharr, Texas $25 million meth-in-produce seizure, a Puerto Rico Coast Guard cocaine offload and a Pakistan/Sri Lanka meth network case all surfaced in searches but were dropped as stale (Sept 3-8 incident dates, already well outside the window). An NDLEA story about a Mexican cartel figure arrested at Lagos airport appears to be the same case already logged Sept 16 as 'A Mexican meth-lab boss posing as a restaurateur is captured running clandestine labs in Nigeria,' so it was excluded as a likely duplicate. A Peru 'dolphin-branded' cocaine story and a Ghana arrest tied to the Dunkirk cocaine shipment were both already logged Sept 16. A Mexican army lab bust in Atoyac, Guerrero matches a case already logged Sept 11. South Africa's Operation Shanela and a Pretoria mandrax-factory story were dropped for lacking a clear new-in-window seizure distinct from South Africa items already logged Sept 15.

1National / Federal (US)

California task force dismantles a Fresno County meth conversion lab, seizing 2,500 pounds and arresting 15

2,500 lbs meth (1,134 kg)Fresno County, California15 arrested

California's Attorney General announced Sept 17 that a joint operation combining the state Department of Justice, FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and several Central Valley sheriff's offices raided multiple sites tied to a methamphetamine conversion operation in Fresno County, seizing more than 2,500 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and over 500 gallons of meth in liquid solution — enough, officials said, to have yielded roughly 2,000 more finished pounds. Fifteen people were arrested and agents recovered 21 firearms and about $20,000 in cash; the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California is prosecuting, with nine alleged conspirators already charged and indictments secured against three more.

SourceCalifornia Department of Justice

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 2,500 lbs meth (1,134 kg) — 23 × 10 kg meth

SOUTHCOM sinks a second Los Choneros fuel vessel in as many days in the Eastern Pacific

Eastern Pacific, off Ecuador

Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, acting under U.S. Southern Command, intercepted and sank a floating refueling station in the Eastern Pacific on Sept 16 that intelligence tied to Ecuador's Los Choneros gang — the second such refueling-vessel boarding in two days, after a Sept 15 interdiction reported in yesterday's edition. Crews from both vessels were transferred to Ecuadorian authorities; these boardings are non-lethal, unlike the kinetic strikes that have killed at least 230 people in 69 attacks on suspected smuggling boats over the past year, and Ecuadorian judges have previously ordered the release of crew detained in earlier boardings, underscoring the campaign's contested legal footing.

SourceU.S. Southern Command

Pixel-art scene: vessel struck and destroyed at sea — vessel struck and destroyed at sea

Global Entry traveler caught trying to smuggle 63 pounds of meth across the San Ysidro border

63.27 lbs meth (28.7 kg)San Ysidro, California

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry stopped a traveler enrolled in the trusted-traveler Global Entry program on Sept 17 and found roughly 63.27 pounds of crystal methamphetamine concealed inside the vehicle, according to CBP's San Diego field operations director.

SourceU.S. Customs and Border Protection

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 63.27 lbs meth (28.7 kg) — 29 × 1 kg meth

2Local US Arrests

Three-month probe ends with a Gardiner, Maine trafficking arrest and $50,000 in seized drugs

Gardiner, Maine1 arrested

Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigators closed out a three-month investigation in Gardiner on Sept 17, seizing methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and a firearm together worth about $50,000 and arresting 36-year-old Dameon Loucks on trafficking charges; agents said additional arrests are expected as the case continues.

SourceWGME

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

Rusk County, Texas traffic stop near Mt. Enterprise turns up a five-drug haul and two arrests

1.4 lbs MDMA (0.64 kg)Mt. Enterprise, Texas2 arrested

A Rusk County Sheriff's Office patrol stopped a vehicle near Mt. Enterprise on Sept 11 and found about 1.4 pounds of MDMA along with promethazine, marijuana, Adderall, oxycodone and alprazolam. Houston residents Frank Edwards Jr., 38, and Takeasha Peoples, 37, were charged with manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and held on $220,000 bond each.

SourceKilgore News Herald

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 1.4 lbs MDMA (0.64 kg) — 635 g mdma

3South America

Brazilian federal police find 140 kilos of cocaine hidden in a ship's hull bound for Italy

140 kg cocaineEspírito Santo, Brazil

Divers with Brazil's Federal Police inspected the hull of a vessel anchored off Espírito Santo on Sept 17 and, noticing signs of tampering on a seawater intake grate, recovered five waterproof bags containing 140 kilograms of cocaine from a compartment normally used to cool the ship's engines. The vessel had sailed from the port of Santos and was headed for Italy; police are still working to identify who loaded the drugs and where they were meant to be unloaded.

SourcePolícia Federal

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 140 kg cocaine — 14 × 10 kg cocaine

Argentina seizes a record 52 kilos of MDMA smuggled from Europe through a Buenos Aires free-trade terminal

52 kg MDMAZárate, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina3 arrested

Argentine federal police, customs agents and DEA-assisted investigators intercepted 52 kilograms of high-purity MDMA — enough for roughly a million ecstasy pills — hidden in a vehicle shipped from Europe through the Zárate free-trade zone, authorities announced Sept 16, calling it the largest synthetic-drug seizure in the country's history. Eight follow-up raids across Buenos Aires and Salta led to the detention of a Mexican, a Venezuelan and an Argentine man, while an international arrest warrant was issued for a second Mexican suspect.

SourceArgentina.gob.ar

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 52 kg MDMA — 10 × 5 kg ≈ 52 kg mdma

Chilean police trace a Fiestas Patrias marijuana run from Bolivia to Santiago, seize 1.26 tonnes

1.26 t cannabisSantiago, Chile8 arrested

Carabineros' OS-7 narcotics unit tracked a shipment of Bolivian marijuana from Chile's northern border to a storage site in Puente Alto, Santiago, timed to meet Fiestas Patrias demand, prosecutors said Sept 17. A controlled-delivery operation that began around Sept 12 ended with more than 1,258 kilograms seized and eight people arrested — one Chilean national and seven Colombians.

SourceCooperativa.cl

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 1.26 t cannabis — 5 × 250 kg cannabis

Two Venezuelan women caught body-packing cocaine and marijuana at Bogotá's El Dorado airport

4 kg cocaine, 7 kg cannabisBogotá, Colombia2 arrested

Colombian police stopped two Venezuelan women during a routine check at El Dorado International Airport on Sept 16 and found roughly 11 kilograms of cocaine and marijuana taped beneath their clothing in seventeen packages, bound for Cali; both were charged with manufacturing and trafficking narcotics. It was the second such body-packing case at the airport in under a month, after a similar 10-kilogram seizure there in late August.

SourceInfobae Colombia

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 4 kg cocaine, 7 kg cannabis — 7 kg cannabis · 4 × 1 kg cocaine

Brazilian and Italian prosecutors dismantle an 'Ndrangheta-linked cocaine pipeline run through Paranaguá

Paranaguá, Brazil7 arrest warrants

Brazil's Federal Police and Italy's national antimafia prosecutors carried out Operation Eredità on Sept 17, executing seven arrest warrants and five search warrants against a network accused of shipping cocaine from Brazil's Paranaguá port to Europe on behalf of the Italian 'Ndrangheta mafia, alongside orders freezing property and bank accounts. Investigators tied the group to at least eleven cocaine seizures totaling more than 4.6 tonnes between 2019 and 2020, saying the pipeline kept running even after earlier 'Ndrangheta arrests in the case.

SourceMinistério Público Federal

4Rest of World

Thai police recover 2.6 million meth pills after a multi-province car chase ends in a crash

Uthai Thani, Thailand2 arrested

A high-speed pursuit that began in Chiang Rai and crossed four provinces ended near Uthai Thani on Sept 13 when the suspects' sedan crashed into a roadside ditch; officers found 2.6 million methamphetamine pills packed into eleven sacks in the wreckage and arrested two men, aged 35 and 40, who police said were en route to deliver the shipment toward Ayutthaya.

SourceChiang Rai Times

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

Valenzuela City buy-bust nets a shabu dealer with half a million pesos in product

Valenzuela City, Philippines1 arrested

Philippine police arrested a 43-year-old woman in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Malinta, Valenzuela City on Sept 18, seizing methamphetamine, known locally as shabu, with an estimated street value of about 510,000 pesos.

SourceManila Bulletin

South African woman gets 25 years in Nigeria for smuggling 5.75 kilos of heroin with her toddler son

Abuja, Nigeria

A Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced 38-year-old South African national Jessica Ann Will to prison on Sept 17 after she pleaded guilty to importing 5.75 kilograms of heroin concealed in two suitcases, having arrived at Abuja's airport from Doha with her 3-year-old son, who remains in Nigerian drug-agency custody pending transfer to South Africa's High Commission. Will told the court she did not know the bags contained drugs and asked for leniency; the judge imposed concurrent terms of 15 years for conspiracy and 25 years for unlawful importation.

SourcePulse Nigeria

Pixel-art scene: prison sentence handed down — prison sentence handed down

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 18, 2026. Counts seizures only — sentencings and indictments are not double-counted — and resets to zero each 1 January. Earlier years are kept below.

117 t 25 editions · 52 places · 14 substances

United States

Puerto Rico1 substance3.3 t

cocaine3.3 t

Texas5 substances1.6 t

methamphetamine1.4 t
cocaine251 kg
heroin16 kg
cannabis1.8 kg
mdma640 g

California5 substances1.3 t

methamphetamine1.2 t
fentanyl43 kg
cocaine9.5 kg
heroin1 kg
mdma68 g

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

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 substances18.0 t

cannabis15.1 t
cocaine2.8 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

Chile2 substances4.0 t

cannabis4.0 t
cocaine7.2 kg

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

Argentina3 substances1.3 t

cannabis946 kg
cocaine321 kg
mdma52 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