In the early hours of Monday 7 September 2026, around 01:10, Ecuadorian army troops carried out operation Amanecer in Ascázubi, in the canton of Cayambe, Pichincha, on military intelligence.[1] They found a Chevrolet pickup loaded with marijuana.[1] The driver and a companion left the vehicle and fled when they saw the soldiers; no one was arrested.[1][2]

Extra, citing the operational report, said the soldiers counted 247 blocks — 45 large ones and 202 packages of about a kilogram — weighing 432.45 kg in total.[1] Expreso, quoting army commander general Jhon Miño, rounded the same seizure to about 500 kg.[2] The armed forces valued the load at more than 1.5 million US dollars as a loss to trafficking structures.[1][2]

Military intelligence said the marijuana was presumed to have come from Colombia’s Cauca and Nariño departments, entered Ecuador near La Pintada–Julio Andrade in Carchi, and been moved along the E35 toward Santo Domingo, Babahoyo and Guayaquil.[1][2] The army said the load was presumed to be linked to the organised crime group Los Lobos.[1][2] The pickup and the packages were handed to the competent authorities.[1][2]