Dominican Republic seized 11,081 kg of cannabis in Q2 2026
The DNCD reported seizing 11,065.01 kg of marijuana and 16.44 kg of hashish between April and June 2026, part of 16,671.16 kg of all drugs in its second-quarter statistical summary. The same operations produced 12,548 detentions, most of them in June, when San José de Ocoa accounted for 7,789.97 kg of marijuana.
The Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas (DNCD), the Dominican Republic’s
drug-control agency, reported seizing 16,671.16 kg of narcotic substances
between April and June 2026 in its second-quarter statistical summary based on
SAIC criminal-information data.[1]As a result of the anti-drug operations,
the authorities reported 12,548 people detained between April and June: 10,682
Dominicans and 1,866 foreigners.[1]June recorded the most detentions with
4,309, followed by May with 4,304 and April with 3,935.[1]Men accounted for
12,422 of the detentions and women for 126.[1]
Most of the seizures were marijuana, with 11,065.01 kg taken over the three
months, while cocaine came second with 5,542.47 kg.[1]June had the largest
overall volume with 9,513.83 kg seized, against 4,372.85 kg in April and
2,784.48 kg in May.[2]June marijuana seizures reached 9,011.14 kg, more than
81% of the quarter’s marijuana total, compared with 1,253.83 kg in April and
800.04 kg in May.[1]Within June’s marijuana seizures, the report attributes
7,789.97 kg to San José de Ocoa and 1,022.69 kg to Peravia, while Santo Domingo
recorded 63.04 kg.[1]The DNCD also reported 16.44 kg of hashish, 7.14 kg of
opium and 0.24 kg of ecstasy seized in the quarter.[1]
The agency reported seizing 546 vehicles in the quarter, including 416
motorcycles, the most common type.[1]Preliminary figures listed 121 firearms
confiscated in the quarter: 36 in April, 45 in May and 40 in June.[1]Officers
seized RD$11,003,406.10 and US$36,686, plus 150 euros and smaller sums in other
foreign currencies.[1]
A later breakdown of the first nine months of 2026 gives April-June as 11,065.01
kg of marijuana and 5,542.47 kg of cocaine, against 1,036.93 kg of marijuana in
January-March and 2,317.68 kg in July-September.[3]Diario Libre’s nine-month
tally, republished by Marca País, put July-September marijuana seizures at
2,317.68 kg.[3]
Photos and video
Seized vehicles and firearms from the quarter's anti-drug operations. Photo: Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas via InfobaePhoto details
The operations ran from April to June 2026; 4 October 2026 is the publication date of the summary and is used as the incident date.
The combined 16,671.16 kg total covers marijuana, cocaine, crack, hashish, opium and ecstasy and is excluded from cannabis figures, which add the separately reported marijuana and hashish weights.
The 12,548 detentions and the 546 vehicles, 121 firearms and cash amounts cover all drugs; no cannabis-only breakdown was published.
The DNCD figure sheet itself could not be opened; the outlets repeat the agency's statistical release and no independent audit was found.
The 110.44 kg gap between the quarter total and the sum of its listed substances is unexplained.
Hashish is counted as cannabis resin even though the agency gives no separate description of it.
Other handout photos republished with the articles show file material or different operations and are excluded; only the vehicles-and-firearms caption ties to a recorded count.
Separate single events inside the quarter, including the 21 June El Pinar eradication and the June San José de Ocoa harvest it produced, are covered elsewhere in the tracker.
The National Police said 28 people were detained in a preventive sweep across La Vega province on 30 October 2026, alongside soldiers and DNCD drug agents. Police reported 108 portions of suspected marijuana and eight knives, but gave no weight for the drug and no grounds for the detentions.
Dominican anti-drug agents seized 11 packages of suspected marijuana hidden inside a bench seat shipped from Miami to Las Américas airport in Boca Chica. No arrests were reported, and the material was sent to the national forensics institute while prosecutors investigate those responsible and the shipment's destination.
Three Dominicans were detained off Baní after a 15-hour air-sea-land pursuit intercepted a 32-foot boat carrying 1,360 suspected cocaine packages and 30 blocks of apparent marijuana. The DNCD-led operation with US and Colombian support sent the 1,390 packages for forensic analysis, with the network investigation still open.
The DNCD reported seizing 12,101.94 kg of marijuana between January and June 2026, more than in all of 2025, out of 24,139.53 kg of drugs in the half-year. More than 90% of the marijuana came in April-June, and the agency's operations produced 24,076 detentions.
