SENAN and Police Seized Two Tons of Drugs in a Container in Colón and at a Residence in Altos de Panamá

Nearly two tons of drugs were seized by agents of the National Aeronaval Service (Senan) and the National Police during an inspection of a container located in a port in the province of Colón that was destined for Spain and at a residence located in Altos de Panamá.  In the first operation carried out by SENAN, a ton of drugs was found hidden in 20 sacks scattered among the cargo of a container, but they were later found after a verification operation by SENAN officers.  Sources from the Drug Prosecutor’s Office reported that the container arrived in Colón from Ecuador and was destined for Barcelona, ​​Spain, and that the cargo remained in transit through Panama. 

According to investigations, the drugs may have been smuggled into the container by local gangs operating in association with port employees who facilitate the contamination of the containers with narcotics.  Authorities have no arrests in this case, but the Colón and Guna Yala Drug Prosecutor’s Office is conducting a series of investigations to determine the source of the narcotics.  Another 811 kilos of drugs were found during an intelligence operation conducted by police at a residence in the Altos de Panamá neighborhood.  During the raid, police found 114 kilos of drugs in the front of the residence and 687 kilos inside the vehicle. 

On April 24, during Operation Puerto Seguro, authorities arrested five people believed to be linked to a shipment of 1,181 kilos of cocaine. In this case, it was established that port employees were assisting criminal networks that receive drugs from Colombia.  So far this year, SENAN has seized a total of 21,226 drug packages, most of which were found in speedboats and containers arriving at the country’s ports.  In total, authorities have seized some 40 tons of drugs so far in 2025 in operations carried out across the country.