June 2026
22 reports. Seizures 12 · Sentences 4 · Raids 2 · Arrests 2 · Prosecutions 2
Ten years on, drug-war killings continue under Marcos
Human Rights Watch marked ten years since Duterte launched the drug war with a report that Marcos had never repudiated it or rescinded its orders. The Dahas Project counted 1,273 killings in the anti-drug campaign since Marcos took office in June 2022, including 330 in 2023–2025, while police reported about 6,200 deaths under Duterte and rights groups estimated up to 30,000.
Moldovan border officers seize suspected cannabis seeds from a passenger
Border and customs officers at Costești found 50 suspected cannabis seeds in a passenger’s baggage on a coach arriving from Belgium. The seeds were sent for expert examination and the investigation continued.
Togo reports over 50 tonnes of drugs seized, mainly cannabis
Togo reported that security forces had seized more than 50 tonnes of drugs in 2025, mainly cannabis, alongside 52 kg of cocaine and psychotropic drugs. Security minister Calixte Madjoulba pointed to the seizures as evidence of anti-trafficking work.
Brunei drops a capital cannabis charge and jails the man for nearly six years
A man arrested in January 2016 with 756.33 g of cannabis had faced a trafficking charge that carried the death penalty. In June 2026 prosecutors replaced it with two charges of possession for trafficking, covering 200 g of cannabis and 84.17 g of cannabis mixture, and he pleaded guilty.
Myanmar burns more than 50 tonnes of seized drugs
On the UN International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the regime burned more than 50 tonnes of heroin, opium, ketamine, methamphetamine, marijuana and crystal meth, valued at about US$600 million, in Yangon, Mandalay and Taunggyi. The total was more than double the 2025 figure. No marijuana weight was given.
Syria launches 'Syria Without Drugs' with a tally of the crackdown
The interior and health ministries launched a national anti-drug campaign at a ceremony in Damascus attended by President al-Sharaa.
A Bali court gives a Dutch cannabis grower three years, not death
Police arrested a 31-year-old Dutchman and his Russian wife on 1 October 2025 after finding a hydroponic cannabis farm in their rented Denpasar house. Prosecutors sought nine years, but the Denpasar court convicted him under the plant-cultivation article and sentenced him to three years and a Rp510 million fine on 23 June 2026.
Belarus reports more drug sentences served under restriction of liberty
The Prosecutor General’s Office reported that restriction of liberty made up 48% of drug sentences in the previous year, with personal-use offences its most frequent application. Short custodial sentences rose from 0.14% to 3.4% of sentences. The figures covered drug offences generally and followed the 2025 expansion of sentencing options.
Misrata customs seize more than five tonnes of cannabis resin
Customs officers at Misrata Free Zone port found 4,752 blocks of hashish, each about 1.15 kg, hidden among other goods in two containers. The haul totalled more than five tonnes and one Libyan man was arrested. Prosecutors in East Misrata supervised the case.
Iran says drug arrests passed 500,000 in 1404
Iran's Drug Control Headquarters said more than 500,000 retailers, distributors and people connected to drug offences were arrested in the Iranian year 1404, which ended in March 2026. It said seizures rose about 3% from 1403 but gave no cannabis breakdown.
Ten arrested as parcel-post cannabis ring supplying France is dismantled
French and Spanish police arrested 10 suspects and searched 24 premises in a Eurojust-coordinated action week, breaking a ring that moved about 1.4 tonnes of cannabis from Barcelona to Rennes by post since 2024. Cash, drugs, guns and cars were seized; the network's assets are put at €4 million.
Arrested 10Kosovo police seize about 60 kg of suspected marijuana
Police searched locations in Pristina and Babush near Ferizaj after several months of investigation, seizing about 60 kg of suspected marijuana, two cars and a truck. Four suspects were arrested and the prosecutor ordered 48 hours of detention while proceedings continued.
China's cannabis user numbers fall again in 2025
The 2025 drug situation report recorded 27,000 drug crime cases, 41,000 suspects and 33.5 tonnes of drugs seized, with 134,000 users handled. It counted 15,000 existing cannabis users at the end of 2025, down 4.7%, and 3,000 cannabis users punished during the year, down 30.2%. Of 20.5 tonnes seized from foreign sources, the report named methamphetamine, heroin and cannabis as the main types.
UAE police seize marijuana and hash oil in a 23-person raid
The National Anti-Narcotics Authority and Ras Al Khaimah police arrested 23 people and seized marijuana, hash oil and synthetic cannabinoid materials in a nationwide operation. Two were arrested while transporting drugs, 11 more were linked to a ringleader based abroad, and 10 were held in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ajman.
India's narcotics bureau reports 634 tonnes of cannabis seized
The Narcotics Control Bureau's annual report for 2025 counted 633.59 tonnes of cannabis seized, about half of all drugs by weight, up from 540.8 tonnes in 2024 but below the 816.9 tonnes of 2021.
Vietnam sentences two cannabis traffickers to death over 401 kg
On 12 June 2026, the Quảng Ninh provincial people's court sentenced 18 defendants in a cannabis ring that had used Telegram to take orders and arrange payment. The court found more than 401 kg of cannabis had been traded between 2023 and June 2024. Nguyễn Phi Cơ and Nguyễn Duy Mạnh received death sentences; Nguyễn Tuấn Anh received life.
Moldovan police uncover a cannabis-growing site at Vadul lui Vodă
Police reported approximately 2.5 kg of cannabis and a growing site in an investigation involving two men suspected of cultivation and supply. One suspect was detained for 72 hours while the other was investigated at liberty; both retained the presumption of innocence.
Gardaí seize 122 cannabis plants at a grow house in Co Cork
Gardaí found a cannabis grow house at a home in Ballymakeera, Co Cork, and seized 122 mature plants and about 1 kg of loose cannabis with a combined estimated value of €117,600. A man in his 40s was arrested.
Arrested 1Plants destroyed 122Cannabis 1 kgMacau breaks its cannabis record with a 35 kg airport haul
A 25-year-old Hong Kong man was arrested at Macau International Airport with about 35 kg of cannabis flower in two suitcases, packed in 60 packets, after arriving from Southeast Asia. Police valued the haul at about MOP35 million and called it the largest cannabis case in Macau's history, eight months after the previous record.
Jordan sentences a man to death for killing three anti-narcotics officers
The State Security Court sentenced a man to death on 7 June 2026 for the killing of three anti-narcotics officers. The court convicted him on five felony counts, including three counts of assaulting officers enforcing the narcotics law that resulted in death, and ordered the confiscation of all seized items.
Taiwan seizes 766 kg of cannabis in its largest bust in a decade
Coast guard and police officers stopped a truck in New Taipei's Rueifang district early on 3 June 2026 and found 1,309 packages holding 766.09 kg of dried cannabis flower, along with amphetamine and mixed drugs. The coast guard valued the haul at about NT$1.62 billion and said it was its largest cannabis seizure in ten years; seven people were arrested and prosecutors indicted them on 24 August.
Lesotho court dismisses the Srugo cannabis case
The criminal case against Tom Srugo under section 9(1)(a)–(b) read with section 6 was dismissed for lack of prosecution, and a court order directed the return of 337 plants and 4 kg seized from his Thetsane residence in 2024. Police had still not returned the plants by October 2026, and the Ministry of Health was withholding a licence renewal.