Edition O'030

Drug News Roundup

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 · 10 stories

Covering reporting published since the Sept 22 edition, roughly Sept 21-23. No new SOUTHCOM vessel strike was found in this window, so the campaign's running total of 69 strikes and at least 231 deaths carries forward unchanged and no ongoing-section item was needed; a Sept 2 congressional statement criticizing the campaign (Rep. Adam Smith) predates this window and was left out as stale. Several other candidates were checked and dropped: a Nigerian NDLEA seizure of 262.6 kg of skunk at the Abuja-Kaduna tollgate, attributed to 'Monday, September 22' in search summaries, checks out by weekday to September 22, 2025, not 2026, and was excluded as a stale story resurfacing in search results; Australia's AFP 'Operation Minjiang' 2.7-tonne cocaine bust actually dates to June 2026; a Chile-Bolivia dispute over a 108-tonne cocaine/ketamine seizure traces back to a June 2026 operation, not a new one; a Mississippi Delta sheriffs' drug-bribery indictment dates to October 2025; a Bolivian scandal over anti-narcotics police allegedly partying in a house seized from trafficker Sebastian Marset was judged a police-conduct story rather than drug-trafficking news and left out; and a widely-cited $2 million El Paso CBP narcotics seizure turned out to be a 2021 press release recirculating in search results. Colombia's Barranquilla 'Plan Cazador' figure (417 arrests, 274 kg of drugs) is a running September total rather than a discrete new event and was left out to avoid double-counting. The Sept 21 Colombian Navy 4.69-tonne Caribbean seizure and Sept 21 Coast Guard Port Everglades offload were already logged in the Sept 22 edition.

1National / Federal (US)

US Attorney's 'Summer Crackdown' nets 60 federal indictments and 160 kilos of drugs in DC

160 kg drugs, 533 firearmsWashington, D.C.60+ indicted

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced results on Sept. 21 of a summer-long, multi-agency enforcement push in Washington, D.C., which produced federal indictments against more than 60 defendants — roughly half on narcotics charges and half on felon-in-possession gun charges — plus 28 gang-member arrests. Working with the Metropolitan Police Department, FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and ATF, the operation seized 533 illegal firearms along with about 64.1 kilograms of methamphetamine, 50.1 kilograms of cocaine (including crack) and 3 kilograms of fentanyl.

SourceU.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 160 kg drugs, 533 firearms — 3 × 50 kg ≈ 160 kg drugs · 1 sword = 10 guns

2Local US Arrests

Lima, Ohio SWAT raid turns up 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and $18,000 in cash

2.5 kg methamphetamineLima, Ohio1 arrested

The Allen County Sheriff's Office SWAT team and the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force served a search warrant Sept. 21 at a Harding Highway home in Lima, finding about 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and more than $18,000 in cash. Dameon Pearson, 49, was arrested and booked into the Allen County Jail on a felony drug-possession charge.

SourceAllen County Sheriff's Office / Hometown Stations

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 2.5 kg methamphetamine — 2 × 1 kg ≈ 2.5 kg meth

Worcester, Massachusetts vice raid breaks up a Main South crack and fentanyl operation

78 g crack, 33 g fentanylWorcester, Massachusetts4 charged

Worcester police vice detectives and the gang unit searched a Preston Street apartment on Sept. 21 after a lengthy investigation into crack and fentanyl sales in the Main South neighborhood, seizing about 78 grams of packaged crack cocaine and 33 grams of fentanyl along with scales and cash. Four people, including three 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old, were charged with trafficking.

SourceWorcester Police Department / Newport Dispatch

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 78 g crack, 33 g fentanyl — 33 g fentanyl

3South America

Ecuador finds a tonne of cocaine hidden in export machinery bound for Guatemala

~1 t cocainePosorja, Ecuador1 arrested

Ecuadorian police inspecting a shipping container at the port of Posorja, near Guayaquil, on Sept. 22 found 995 blocks of cocaine — roughly a metric tonne — concealed inside machinery declared for export to Guatemala. Héctor Mendoza, president of the exporting company, was arrested and turned over to judicial authorities.

SourcePolicía Nacional del Ecuador / Infobae

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: ~1 t cocaine — 10 × 100 kg cocaine

Brazilian highway police pull 975 kilos of cocaine, paste and marijuana from a Mato Grosso do Sul truck

975 kg mixed drugsMiranda, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil1 detained

Federal Highway Police stopped a truck hauling iron ore at kilometer 600 of BR-262 in Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul, before dawn on Sept. 22 and found narcotics hidden in a second trailer atop the ore load: 543 kilograms of compressed marijuana, 218.2 kilograms of coca paste and 213.4 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride. The driver said he had been paid to haul the load to Campo Grande and was turned over to federal police.

SourcePolícia Rodoviária Federal / A Gazeta de Dourados

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 975 kg mixed drugs — 20 × 50 kg ≈ 975 kg drugs

Brazilian federal police freeze $50 million tied to a Paraguay-linked cocaine pipeline

R$50M in assets frozenMato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo and Paraná, Brazil

Federal Police launched 'Operação Suécia XXXV' on Sept. 22, serving 15 search-and-seizure warrants across Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo and Paraná and freezing up to 50 million reais in real estate, vehicles, jewelry and bank accounts belonging to a criminal organization accused of moving cocaine into Brazil from Paraguay. Investigators tied the group to at least 1,302 kilograms of cocaine already recovered in four earlier, separately reported seizures.

SourcePolícia Federal

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: R$50M in assets frozen — and the cash

Argentine gendarmerie dog sniffs out 53 kilos of marijuana in a Santiago del Estero vehicle

53 kg cannabisSantiago del Estero, Argentina

A Gendarmería Nacional detection dog named Yasi flagged a vehicle on Route 16 in Santiago del Estero province on Sept. 22, leading officers to marijuana hidden in secret compartments. A federal court ordered the seizure of more than 53 kilograms of the drug along with the vehicle.

SourceGendarmería Nacional Argentina / Canal26

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 53 kg cannabis — 2 × 25 kg ≈ 53 kg cannabis

4Rest of World

Hong Kong national arrested with 350 kilos of crystal meth staged for export from Bangkok

350 kg methamphetamineBangkok, Thailand1 arrested

Thai Crime Suppression Division officers raided a house in Bangkok's Min Buri district on Sept. 22 after a tip about a Hong Kong-run storage operation, finding about 350 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine along with packaging equipment. A 26-year-old Hong Kong man, who told police he had arrived on a tourist visa from Kuala Lumpur just over a week earlier, was arrested; officers valued the haul at roughly 700 million baht.

SourceRoyal Thai Police / The Pattaya News, Bangkok Post

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 350 kg methamphetamine — 35 × 10 kg meth

'Project Ghostwire' dismantles a Canadian dark-web drug marketplace, seizing nine kinds of narcotics

30+ kg mixed drugsMississauga / York Region, Ontario, Canada5 arrested

York Regional Police announced Sept. 22 the results of a months-long probe, launched in January, into a dark-web and encrypted-app marketplace called 'Icy White North' that was run out of a Mississauga penthouse and served customers across Canada. Five suspects from the Greater Toronto Area face 81 charges after investigators seized about $3 million in drugs and luxury goods, including 5.5 kilograms of fentanyl, 5.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 5.4 kilograms of MDMA, 4.5 kilograms of ketamine, roughly 3.7 kilograms of cocaine and crack combined, 700 grams of heroin, and thousands of pills of LSD, Xanax, oxycodone and hydromorphone.

SourceYork Regional Police / CBC News

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 30+ kg mixed drugs — 30 kg drugs

Thai highway police seize 7.6 million meth pills hidden inside a generator

7.6M meth pillsNakhon Sawan, Thailand4 arrested

Highway police in Nakhon Sawan province broke up a smuggling network overnight into Sept. 22, finding 7.6 million methamphetamine pills concealed inside a generator. Four suspected gang members were arrested at separate locations, along with two pickup trucks and an SUV used to move the shipment.

SourceRoyal Thai Police / Bangkok Post

Pixel-art scene of the seized items: 7.6M meth pills — plus the tablets

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 23, 2026. Counts seizures only — sentencings and indictments are not double-counted — and resets to zero each 1 January. Earlier years are kept below.

145 t 30 editions · 57 places · 14 substances

United States

Florida4 substances4.3 t

cocaine3.3 t
cannabis964 kg
fentanyl9.5 kg
methamphetamine4.2 kg

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
cocaine92 kg
fentanyl43 kg
heroin1 kg
mdma68 g

Illinois2 substances686 kg

khat532 kg
cocaine154 kg

Georgia4 substances344 kg

cannabis334 kg
carfentanil9.1 kg
methamphetamine450 g
fentanyl110 g

New York3 substances284 kg

cocaine277 kg
fentanyl7.6 kg
fentanyl/heroin250 g

Maryland2 substances152 kg

cocaine140 kg
fentanyl12 kg

Pennsylvania2 substances127 kg

cannabis113 kg
cocaine14 kg

Indiana1 substance126 kg

cocaine126 kg

District of Columbia3 substances117 kg

methamphetamine64 kg
cocaine50 kg
fentanyl3 kg

Minnesota2 substances28 kg

methamphetamine27 kg
cocaine883 g

Massachusetts2 substances22 kg

fentanyl22 kg
cocaine394 g

Kentucky2 substances20 kg

methamphetamine20 kg
fentanyl60 g

Mississippi5 substances17 kg

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

North Carolina3 substances10 kg

cocaine8.2 kg
cannabis1.8 kg
fentanyl126 g

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
fentanyl195 g
cocaine190 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

Ohio4 substances4.5 kg

methamphetamine2.5 kg
cocaine2 kg
fentanyl10 g
heroin3 g

Alabama3 substances3.3 kg

methamphetamine2.3 kg
cocaine1 kg
fentanyl21 g

Nebraska2 substances2.4 kg

methamphetamine2.4 kg
cocaine17 g

International

Colombia4 substances21.7 t

cocaine15.4 t
cannabis5.5 t
coca base684 kg
heroin15 kg

Brazil4 substances21.5 t

cannabis18.1 t
cocaine3.1 t
coca base302 kg
hashish45 kg

Mexico4 substances21.0 t

methamphetamine19.2 t
cannabis1.8 t
fentanyl19 kg
heroin7.7 kg

Spain2 substances19.4 t

hashish11.3 t
cocaine8.2 t

Ecuador2 substances14.7 t

cocaine13.8 t
cannabis900 kg

Nigeria3 substances7.0 t

cannabis7.0 t
methamphetamine2 kg
cocaine350 g

Portugal1 substance5.3 t

hashish5.3 t

Chile2 substances5.1 t

cannabis5.1 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 substances1.6 t

cannabis1.3 t
cocaine321 kg
mdma52 kg

Pakistan4 substances1.5 t

hashish1.0 t
opium242 kg
heroin202 kg
methamphetamine2 kg

Venezuela1 substance905 kg

cannabis905 kg

Peru2 substances698 kg

cocaine448 kg
coca base250 kg

Dominican Republic1 substance587 kg

cocaine587 kg

Thailand1 substance516 kg

methamphetamine516 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

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

Canada7 substances59 kg

fentanyl28 kg
mdma12 kg
methamphetamine7.7 kg
cocaine6.2 kg
ketamine4.5 kg
heroin700 g
cannabis479 g

Philippines1 substance34 kg

methamphetamine34 kg

Ireland2 substances26 kg

cocaine22 kg
cannabis4 kg

Italy1 substance17 kg

methamphetamine17 kg

South Korea2 substances1.8 kg

methamphetamine1.2 kg
ketamine500 g