On the morning of 6 May 2021, Chilean authorities presented the closing balance of Plan Cannabis 2021 at the PDI department for small-quantity drug trafficking in Cerrillos.[1] Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado and PDI Director General Héctor Espinosa led the event, joined by Interior and crime-prevention undersecretaries, Metropolitan South prosecutor Héctor Barros and Senda director Carlos Charme.[1] The National Anti-Narcotics and Organised Crime Headquarters runs each summer season to eradicate Cannabis sativa crops and dismantle groups that grow, harvest and sell them.[1][2] Working with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, investigators reached difficult mountain areas before harvest to anticipate and eradicate plantations.[2] The 2021 season covered plantations from La Serena to the Biobío region.[1] The operation ran between January and April 2021.[3]
The PDI said investigators seized more than 15.5 tonnes of processed cannabis and 293,000 plants.[1] The PDI put the haul at more than 162 million doses and valued it at 225,000 million pesos.[4] The emphasis on investigation-led work almost quintupled inquiry counts.[1] Detainees rose from 4 in the prior season to 42 after producers and gangs were identified.[5] Firearms seized rose from 1 to 17 and vehicles seized rose from 3 to 16.[1]
The PDI said the plan started 20 years earlier and has improved year by year.[1] PDI chief Espinosa said the institution had never had such an important result.[1] Minister Delgado commended the PDI and prosecutors, saying hits against trafficking matter because drugs, violence and arms form a triad.[1] The PDI chief clarified the 15.5 tonnes were cannabis sativa under Plan Cannabis only, excluding other drugs seized separately.[4]
