Civil Police officers arrested three men in flagrante on Tuesday 10 November 2026 in a house in the Cinturão Verde neighbourhood, in the west of Boa Vista, with 201.5 kilograms of drugs the police described as cannabis derivatives.[1] The load included hashish and a product called ICE, both known locally as maconha de playboy, and cannabis oils.[1] The men were Domingos Gomes Ribeiro, 49, his son Ruan Junio Duarte Ribeiro, 25, and Welligton Cunha da Silva, 36.[1] They were in a house in Cinturão Verde, in the west of the capital.[1] Two women who were also in the house were released because, police said, there was not enough evidence to arrest them in flagrante at that moment.[1]
The drugs were spread through travel suitcases and stored in vacuum packaging, in different shapes and consistencies.[1] The Civil Police said five variations of marijuana, with different concentrations, were seized, and valued the load at R$15 million.[1] Delegate Júlio Cesar da Rocha, head of the Delegacia de Repressão a Entorpecentes (DRE), estimated a kilogram at between R$60,000 and R$70,000 because of a high concentration of THC, the active compound in cannabis.[1] Police suspect the drugs entered Brazil from neighbouring countries and were meant for a wealthy market.[1]
According to police, Domingos said the plan was to take the drugs to Rio de Janeiro and that he would be paid about R$20,000 for the transport.[1] Police are checking whether the group worked for a criminal faction in Rio.[1] The investigation began on Sunday 8 November after the intelligence unit found that the suspects had left Amazonas to collect the load in Roraima.[1] The three men were booked for drug trafficking and for association for trafficking.[1] The DRE is leading the case, with support from the Departamento de Narcóticos (Denarc).[1] Domingos is also under investigation in a separate case about illegal mining.[1]
