September 2026
28 reports. Seizures 11 · Arrests 4 · Sentences 4 · Eradications 3 · Raids 3 · Prosecutions 3
21 arrested as airport baggage-hall drug ring is dismantled
Belgian, French and Dutch police arrested 21 suspects in a Eurojust-coordinated action after an 18-month probe that began with 30 kg of cocaine abandoned at Brussels Airport. Couriers flew in drugs while recruits on cheap tickets collected bags off the belts; cash, cars and guns were seized.
Arrested 21Armenia seizes 69 kg of marijuana smuggled from Iran
The National Security Service stopped two Armenian citizens and an Iranian citizen with 69.3 kg of marijuana near Meghri, after they picked up the load from a cache near Nrnadzor. The case was opened under the aggravated sale and smuggling articles, and a court ordered the two Armenians held.
Prosecutors seek 20 years for a yakuza who smuggled 646 kg of cannabis
A 53-year-old Japanese-Korean yakuza member went on trial at Suwon for shipping about 636 kg of cannabis from Thailand to Incheon port in March 2026 as part of a 646 kg smuggling operation; prosecutors called it the largest cannabis import for domestic sale and sought 20 years. The case began with intelligence from the National Intelligence Service and was handled by the joint drug headquarters.
Two men jailed 30 years and caned for 139 kg of cannabis
S. Mohan, 38, and Ahmad Shamil Abdul Rashid, 28, were sentenced to 30 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane for trafficking 139 kg of cannabis from a Bangsar car park in 2022. The judge found the case proven beyond reasonable doubt; the prosecution had sought the heavy term over the quantity.
Charged 2Cannabis 139 kgPrison 30 yearsWest Bank drug arrests reach 2,419 in 2026
Palestinian police in the West Bank said they had handled 2,150 drug cases and arrested 2,419 people, including 50 women, since the start of 2026. More than 100 families had reported relatives to the police in the hope of treatment, the police spokesman said.
Police seize 4.2 tonnes of marijuana hidden in a lime load in Huila
National Police found 4.2 tonnes of marijuana hidden among sacks of lime in a truck at the Patá toll booth near Neiva, Huila. One man was arrested. The president valued the load at 2.225 billion pesos; the police put it at about 1 billion.
Arrested 1Cannabis 4,200 kgMongolia sends more drug cases to court in 2026
By September 2026 prosecutors had charged 398 people under the Criminal Code's drug articles and sent 184 cases involving 270 people to court, 33 per cent more than a year earlier. Just over half of the accused were aged 18 to 30, 44 per cent were 31 to 44, and 15 per cent were women. The figures cover offences under Articles 20.7 and 20.8, not cannabis alone.
NCB begins destroying illegal cannabis fields in Kullu
On 25 September 2026 the NCB, ITBP, Himachal Pradesh Police and Forest Department began a month-long drive to destroy illegal cannabis cultivation in remote parts of Kullu. The teams geo-tag and film the plots and the Forest Department issues destruction certificates; the NCB said legal action would follow against those responsible.
391 kg of cannabis found in glove boxes at Pasir Panjang port
ICA image analysts flagged anomalies in a container's scan on 24 September and found 1,290 cannabis blocks hidden in boxes of gloves. The agencies say the 391 kg load was transiting through Singapore; no origin or destination was disclosed and investigations continue.
Cannabis 391 kgPolice seize 270 kg of cannabis in a week-long trans-Tasman operation
A week-long Australia–New Zealand operation in September 2026 carried out 85 search warrants in New Zealand and arrested 34 people. Police seized 270 kg of loose cannabis and 6,183 plants, along with methamphetamine, opium, MDMA, cash and firearms. The cannabis came from grow houses in Auckland linked to Vietnamese organised crime.
Singapore intercepts 391 kg of cannabis in a transit container
Border officers and narcotics investigators found 1,290 cannabis blocks weighing about 391 kg in boxes containing gloves at Pasir Panjang. Their 2 October release said preliminary investigations indicated the container was transiting Singapore for another country and that investigations continued.
Police burn 32,500 marijuana seedlings in a Chugay raid
Police eradicated and burned 32,500 marijuana seedlings and seized about 621.7 kg of the drug in Yacopampa, Chugay district, La Libertad. They also disabled two collection and drying centres; no arrests were reported.
Plants destroyed 32,500Cannabis 621.7 kgFrench Polynesia jails Huahine cannabis producers
The Papeete court sentenced Huahine producers to three years, two suspended, and a 2.5 million CFP fine; distributors received two years suspended and a 500,000 CFP fine. Police had seized 2 kg of cannabis, 177 sticks and 4.5 million CFP in cash. The case followed the August seizure of 513 kg of plants and cuttings on the island.
Northern Cyprus reports 218 participants in supervised drug programmes
An official account of an addiction symposium reported 218 participants in supervised-release programmes. The figure covered drug cases generally and described the work of the Prime Ministry’s drug commission.
Hong Kong seizes a record 535 kg of cannabis at sea
Customs seized about 535 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds, worth about HK$125 million, from a container that arrived from Thailand declared as carrying insulated boxes. Officers found the drug in 364 of 1,342 boxes and arrested three men after a controlled delivery; one was charged with attempting to traffic.
Nine arrested as police raid cannabis grow houses across Canberra
Police searched 15 properties across the Australian Capital Territory and seized 1,586 cannabis plants, about 70 kg of dried cannabis, cash and six vehicles. Nine people were charged with criminal-group and drug offences in what police called their largest ever operation against grow houses.
Arrested 9Cannabis 70 kgDIICOT raids cannabis plantation hidden near Berzovia
DIICOT prosecutors and organised-crime police carried out five searches after finding a cannabis plantation in an isolated area outside Berzovia, run by four suspects aged 19 to 53 who bought seeds from Spain. The four were taken for questioning.
Cannabis charges fall slightly but imprisonments hold steady
The Ministry of Justice's cannabis offences tables for the year to 30 June 2026 show 5,690 finalised charges, down from 5,854 a year earlier, and 3,543 people charged, down from 3,606. Convictions were stable: 2,551 people were convicted, against 2,600 in 2024/25, and 558 received imprisonment as their most serious sentence, about 22%.
Two Malaysians arrested with 10 kg of cannabis at Tuas
ICA officers stopped a Malaysia-registered motorcycle at Tuas Checkpoint on 15 September 2026 and found about 10,164 g of cannabis in bundles under the seat and in a haversack on the handlebar.[@1] A 36-year-old Malaysian man and a 35-year-old Malaysian woman were arrested.[@1] The drugs were worth more than S$203,000 and could feed about 1,450 abusers for a week, and the amount was twenty…
Azerbaijan seizes 5.9 tonnes of marijuana in eight months
In January–August 2026 the authorities recorded 5,561 drug crimes and seized 6,994.958 kg of narcotics and psychotropic substances, valued at 208.47 million manat, the State Commission for Combating Drug Addiction reported. Marijuana accounted for 5,928.805 kg and hashish for 247.630 kg, and officers also took 17,372 cannabis plants out of circulation.
Cambodia charges five Britons over 97 kg of cannabis and heroin at its new airport
Kandal Provincial Court charged five British men with possession, trafficking and transport under Article 40 after two stops at Techo International Airport. On 6 September officers seized about 18 kg of cannabis and heroin from two of them; on 9 September they found 73.017 kg of dried cannabis and 6.219 kg of white powder suspected to be heroin in the luggage of the other three.
Drukair employee arrested with 22 kg of cannabis
Police arrested a Drukair employee in his forties on 14 September 2026 over an attempt to smuggle 22.34 kg of cannabis. The case was reported in October and was one of several large airport and parcel seizures that year. It was an enforcement case, not a change in the law.
PDI seizes 811 kg of marijuana from a ring bringing it from Bolivia
Chile's investigative police arrested four people and seized 811 kg of cannabis at a stash house in San Bernardo, in an operation against a ring that brought marijuana from Bolivia into Santiago.
Arrested 4Cannabis 811 kgPolice burn 53,000 cannabis plants at Yaruni Bend, Linden
Police spent eleven hours destroying two cannabis farms covering eight acres at Yaruni Bend in the Upper Demerara River, along with two camps and 10 pounds of dried cannabis. No arrests were made.
Plants destroyed 53,000Hectares 3.2Cannabis 4.5 kgDRI seizes 740 kg of cannabis and charas in a fortnight of raids
Between late August and 9 September 2026 the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized about 740 kg of cannabis and charas in eight operations and arrested 13 people. The largest haul was 375.95 kg of ganja from two trucks near Raipur; officers also found 140.5 kg near Patna, 69 kg near Ludhiana and 5 kg of charas smuggled from Nepal.
Vietnam reports 407 kg of cannabis seized in the first nine months of 2026
At a 7 September 2026 inter-agency conference, the drug police reported 17,600 cases and nearly 35,400 suspects since the start of the year. Seizures included 407 kg of cannabis, 99.8 kg of heroin, 953 kg and nearly 900,000 pills of synthetic drugs, and 1.16 tonnes of ketamine. The case and suspect figures cover all drugs; the cannabis figure is a seizure total.
Qatar customs find hashish hidden in candy wrappers
A passenger arriving at Hamad International Airport was stopped with 1.5 kilograms of hashish and 370 grams of methamphetamine concealed in candy wrappers and sweets. The General Authority of Customs said officers found the contraband during a luggage inspection and referred it to the authorities. The seizure was announced on 3 September 2026.
Algeria plans a drug enforcement agency and a desert prison
The High Security Council, chaired by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, decided on 2 September 2026 to create a specialised drug enforcement body modelled on the US Drug Enforcement Administration and to turn an army barracks at Tanezrouft in the Sahara into a high-security prison for drug traffickers. The presidency announced no legal text or start date.