Army seizes 1.3 tonnes of marijuana after a chase in Carchi
On 30 September 2026 soldiers in Carchi chased a pickup that had skipped a checkpoint at Santa Martha de Cuba. The occupants fled and left about 1.3 tonnes of suspected marijuana, which the defence minister valued at 6.5 million dollars.
🇪🇨 Santa Martha de Cuba, Carchi · Ecuador
- Cannabis
- 1,300 kg
- Value (official estimate)
- USD 6,500,000
On Wednesday 30 September 2026, Ecuadorian soldiers seized about 1.3 tonnes of marijuana from a pickup abandoned after a chase in Santa Martha de Cuba, in Carchi province, Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo said.[1] The people in the pickup skipped a military checkpoint.[1] Soldiers followed them.[1] Kilometres later the occupants left the vehicle and escaped.[1] The army’s own post, quoted by Primicias, said the soldiers had seized 1,300 kg in Carchi.[1]
When the army searched the pickup it found 24 bundles holding about 960 packages of suspected marijuana, Loffredo wrote.[1] He valued the load at 6.5 million US dollars and called the seizure a blow to the logistics and illicit economies of trafficking groups on the northern border.[1]
El Universo, citing the same post, reported that the occupants were not arrested.[2] It said the operation was carried out by the security bloc through the armed forces, using information from the National Intelligence Centre.[2]
Sources
- Ejército incauta 1,3 toneladas de marihuana en camioneta abandonada tras persecución en el Carchi. Primicias, 1 October 2026. In Spanish.
- Camioneta con 1,3 toneladas de presunta marihuana fue abandonada tras persecución en Carchi. El Universo, 30 September 2026. In Spanish.
Open questions the AI reported
- No one was arrested. The occupants abandoned the pickup and escaped.
- The minister's post called the packages suspected marijuana. These reports do not give a laboratory result.
- The 6.5 million dollar figure is the minister's estimate of the loss to traffickers.
- El Universo does not name Santa Martha de Cuba. That place is in the Primicias account.