Military police arrested a 32-year-old man on the night of 30 October 2026 after finding about 140 kg of cannabis in a house in the Centre of Balneário Rincão, Santa Catarina.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The police went to the house on Rua Luiz Maria Júlia after the Tático de Içara, a Military Police tactical unit, received information that it was being used as a depot for drugs intended for sale.[1][4][7] The man, known to patrols, ran into the house when officers arrived and threw a mobile phone towards the neighbouring property.[12][4] A first search found a scale and one cannabis tablet; the man admitted the drug was his and said more was stored inside.[1][3][4][5][6][13][11]

Officers also seized three precision scales and two mobile phones.[1][4][13][7][8][10][11] The Military Police described the man as one of the leaders of a criminal faction operating in Balneário Rincão.[1][4][13][7] The claim is part of the police account and is still to be investigated.[2]

Several of the tablets carried a printed photograph of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beside another man, taped to packages wrapped in green and yellow tape; the reason was not explained.[2] He was arrested in the act for drug trafficking and taken with the seized material to the Civil Police station in Criciúma.[2][4][5][6][13][8][9][10][11]

The man told police the cannabis was meant to supply drug sales during the summer season in Balneário Rincão, when the town’s population rises.[3][5][6]

The image printed on the tablets was AI-generated and showed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beside former president Jair Bolsonaro, according to Misturebas.[13]

In the printed image taped to the packages, Lula wore a Corinthians shirt and made an L gesture beside another man.[8][10]

According to the military police, the man already had a criminal record for possession and drug trafficking, disobedience, resistance and robbery.[9]