Crime Intel

Drones and drug trafficking. Three years of data. One clear trend.📈 This analysis of major DTO's news shows drone coverage has been climbing steadily... With one dramatic spike in October 2025, when Operação Contenção hit Rio de Janeiro. The largest police raid in Brazil's history. Both sides used drones.

Colombia: Authorities intercepted a fishing vessel over 250 nautical miles off Buenaventura and seized 1.93 tons of cocaine hidden in sacks onboard with four Colombian nationals. The entire shipment and crew were transported to Buenaventura for legal processing.

Colombia: Authorities seized 649 kg of cocaine after intercepting a Go Fast-type speedboat 160 nautical miles north of Puerto Bolívar in the Caribbean. The operation was carried out jointly by the Navy with antinarcotics police and received logistical support from France and the Netherlands. Officers detained two Dominican nationals and recovered 652 rectangular packages of cocaine during the nighttime maritime interdiction.

Brazil: A joint operation by Federal Highway Police (PRF), Federal Revenue, and the State Narcotics Department (DENARC) intercepted a vehicle on highway BR-364 near Vilhena, seizing 600 kg of cocaine concealed inside supplement containers. Narcotesting confirmed the substance as cocaine, found in tablet form and hidden with the supposed cargo according to the invoice.

The UN Office on Drugs & Crime/UNODC just released their Research Brief on Transnational Organized Crime. The brief highlights four key areas & their relation to global organized crime: -Manifestations & Impacts -Criminal Governance -Illicit Markets -Technology Key takeaways 🧵

Mexico: Authorities seized 54,960 liters of chemical precursors, identified as benzyl alcohol, stored in 240 drums inside two containers at the Manzanillo port customs, intended for synthetic drug production including fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Spain: Guardia Civil recovered three semi-rigid Duarry Supercat boats belonging to the Navy Marine Infantry that had been stolen during exercise FLOTEX-26 in Cádiz. The vessels, each about five meters long and equipped with 25-horsepower outboard engines, were found deflated and prepared for transport in a wooded area near Barbate, alongside fuel canisters, outboard motors, and several black packages. No arrests have been made so far, but authorities suspect local groups linked to drug trafficking, specifically “petaqueros” who supply fuel to drug smuggling boats, were involved. The stolen equipment also included at least eleven dry suits and tracking systems used for special operations.

Greece: On Saturday morning in Mikrolimano, Piraeus, Alessio Xhelo, known as Titi, a 42-year-old Albanian with a violent criminal record and ties to a major criminal organization, exchanged gunfire with police after resisting a search by Extortion Police officers. Xhelo, previously convicted to 73 years in prison in Greece for murder, robbery, and other violent crimes, was injured in the shootout and hospitalized under heavy guard. Authorities seized two pistols, a .32 caliber revolver, and a bag containing six hand grenades at the scene. Xhelo, notorious for violent incidents in Greece, Cyprus, and Albania, including armed attacks in residential areas, a 2012 standoff with police, and a fatal carjacking, had recently entered Greece illegally after his release from house arrest in Albania and a previous escape from Greek custody.

Türkiye: Police dismantled a large-scale synthetic drug network in Darıca and Gebze, seizing 1.08 tons of precursor chemicals hidden in 40 boxes and 161 kg of pill capsules, sufficient to manufacture around 40 million pills. Raids on converted production sites also yielded 1.7 million ready-made synthetic drug pills, 264 kg of additional precursor material (enough for another 3 million pills), and 19 pill-press machines. Nine suspects were detained, with one placed in custody.

Brazil: Federal Police [PF] seized 183 kg of cocaine in paste form, packed into 169 tabletes hidden in secret compartments of a foreign truck’s cabin and cargo area during a routine check on highway BR-277 near Balsa Nova, Paraná. Alongside the drug haul, officers found two long guns (fuzis), a revolver, two pistols, and cell phones. The truck driver was arrested on the spot and taken to police headquarters in Curitiba, where he faces charges for international drug trafficking and illegal weapons trafficking.

Argentina: Prefectura Naval [Coast Guard] intercepted 3.2 tons of marijuana being smuggled via a clandestine motorboat from Paraguay across the Paraná River near Eldorado, Misiones. Traffickers used a nighttime river crossing, unloading rectangular plastic-wrapped packages onto vehicles waiting on the Argentine shore.

Brazil: Federal Police and Military Police intercepted a truck carrying 24 tons of marijuana in Orindiúva, São Paulo, resulting in the arrest of two men. The shipment was seized during a nighttime operation.

Spain: Three Duarry Supercat high-performance rigid-hulled inflatable boats, designed for military use and each measuring six meters and weighing 640 kg, were stolen from the Navy during Flotex-26 maneuvers at El Retín beach in Barbate. The theft, carried out overnight as military units were conducting coastal reconnaissance, also included 11–12 Navy specialized dry suits and tactical tracking equipment. Investigation by the Guardia Civil suggests the boats, equipped with Yamaha 100-horsepower outboards, have likely been repurposed by drug trafficking groups operating between Cádiz and Morocco for fuel supply and rapid coastal landings. These vessels’ Kevlar-reinforced hulls and stealthy coastal capabilities make them highly sought after by criminal organizations in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Türkiye: Police seized 1,700,000 synthetic pharmaceutical pills, identified as illicit drug-type synthetic pills, in a TIR during a traffic stop in Kocaeli. Follow-up raids at addresses linked to the suspects uncovered 264 kg of precursor chemicals, enough to produce an estimated 3,000,000 additional synthetic pills, as well as 19 pill production machines. The pills and precursor materials were found across multiple locations, including a clandestine pill manufacturing site in the Darıca and Gebze districts. Nine suspects were detained, with one already remanded in custody and legal proceedings ongoing for the others.

Australia: Authorities seized 166 kg of pseudoephedrine concealed in pouches within a food consignment shipped from India and detected through anomalies in three pallets during inspection at Sydney's Port Botany. The Australian Border Force [ABF] carried out a controlled delivery operation to a Parramatta storage facility, arresting an Indian national who attempted to collect the shipment.

Colombia: Coast Guard units seized a total of 688.3 kg of cocaine off Buenaventura after a tip-off from the US Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force. The operation involved intercepting two suspicious boats in Pacific coastal waters; the first had a hidden compartment containing 369 rectangular packages and communications equipment, while the second held 300 packages of various sizes. Four suspects were arrested at the scene.

Paraguay: Seven members of the Primer Comando Capital (PCC) attempted to attack Miguel Ángel Insfrán, known as "Tío Rico" and associate of Sebastián Marset, inside the Minga Guazú prison, but failed as Insfrán was attending a judicial hearing via videoconference and was not in his cell. Authorities transferred the attackers to another facility and increased protection measures for Insfrán. Insfrán was extradited from Brazil in 2023 for his role in drug trafficking to Europe and is also under investigation, along with Marset, for involvement in the assassination of anti-mafia prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Colombia in 2022.

Colombia: Police [SIJIN] seized 5 tons of marijuana in Medellín’s Belén Aguas Frías neighborhood during an operation targeting a truck arriving from Cauca, used as storage and distribution for local networks. Five alleged members of the criminal groups La Unión, Barrio Antioquia, and Las Violetas, including a coordinator known as Mello, were arrested. The marijuana was hidden in the truck and destined for urban distribution across neighborhoods including Santa Fe, El Poblado, and Altavista. The supply chain originates from northern Cauca municipalities like Corinto, Caloto, Miranda, and Toribio, and is linked to organized crime structures controlling sales in the urban center, particularly the Barrio Antioquia area, a key hub for microtrafficking.

Brazil: Police discovered a clandestine cryptofarm operated by the Comando Vermelho in the Complexo do Lins, hidden in a room at the back of a market. The setup included at least 30 laptops running continuously to mine cryptocurrencies like bitcoin using illegally sourced electricity via improvised connections. The facility featured wall exhaust systems to prevent overheating, enabling uninterrupted digital currency generation.

Panama: Authorities intercepted a boat in Pacific waters near eastern Isla Bona and seized 503 brown packages, each marked with the number 111, hidden in a double bottom compartment. The total seizure is estimated at approximately 503 kg, most likely cocaine given local traffic trends, though the substance type was not officially confirmed. Two Ecuadorian nationals operating the vessel were arrested.

USA: Two Chinese nationals, Ruhuan Zhen and Hongce Wu, were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering for the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). From at least November 2016 to April 2025, they and their associates allegedly laundered drug proceeds using mirror transfers, foreign bank accounts, encrypted communications, serial-number verification, and trade-based money laundering. The network operated across the US, Mexico, Latin America, China, and other locations. Laundered funds came from cocaine and fentanyl trafficking. Both suspects remain fugitives. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.