2,400 kg of cannabis seized from truck in El Loa; one held
The Antofagasta prosecutor's office and the PDI seized 2.4 tonnes of cannabis in 2,311 packages from a cargo truck on El Loa routes, valuing it at up to 12,111 million pesos. One Chilean man was detained, formalized for drug trafficking and placed in preventive detention with a 100-day investigation period.
🇨🇱 Routes of El Loa province, near Calama, Antofagasta · Chile
The Antofagasta regional prosecutor’s office and Chile’s Investigative Police
detained an adult Chilean citizen in flagrante as part of their joint strategic
work against drug trafficking.[1]The Calama prosecutor’s office formalized
the detainee for drug trafficking, and at the Public Ministry’s request he was
placed in preventive detention as a danger to society with a 100-day
investigation period.[1]
The operation on routes in El Loa province recovered 2.4 tonnes of cannabis,
equivalent to 2,311 packages, with an estimated value that could reach 12,111
million pesos.[1]The cannabis had been stockpiled in the city of Calama and
was being taken to the country’s central zone for distribution, portioning and
sale when coordinated work by the Public Ministry and the PDI thwarted the
organization’s plans.[1]Officers also seized a 2015 Freightliner TRCA truck,
a semi-trailer and cash, described as items linked to the transport logistics.[1]
The Calama anti-narcotics and organized-crime brigade found the load hidden in a
cargo vehicle after investigative work based on criminal analysis, police
intelligence and specialized field work.[1]The two institutions called it the
largest drug seizure so far in 2026 and one of the most important in recent
years.[1]
Photos and video
Lead photo on the Fiscalia page for this seizure report. Photo: Fiscalia de ChilePhoto details
The article gives no separate date for the interception; 17 February 2026 is its publication date and is used as the incident date.
Only one accessible source for this event was found after searching in Spanish; no second outlet or agency statement could be opened to corroborate it.
The detained man's name was not published.
The amount of cash seized with the truck and semi-trailer was not quantified.
The 12,111 million peso figure is reported as a possible maximum appraisal; it is recorded as the authorities' valuation.
The PDI's anti-narcotics brigade in Calama seized 186 kg of pressed marijuana at a stash point in the border area near San Pedro de Atacama, a find the local prosecutor said came from the internal border task force. The PDI valued the load at 900 million pesos and said it would be destroyed.
Carabineros' OS-7 unit in Cachapoal detained a 23-year-old man after seizing more than two kilos of marijuana from an interprovincial bus at kilometre 58 of Ruta 5 Sur in Mostazal. Drug-detecting dog Kelsy alerted officers to the luggage, and the man was placed at the disposal of the Ministerio Público on a trafficking allegation.
Carabineros detained a 50-year-old driver at a vehicle check on the northern access to the Coquimbo Region and seized 30.36 kg of processed marijuana in 30 packages. The Tenencia Carreteras Elqui found two packages in the car and OS7 officers found another 28 a short distance from the check point.
Carabineros in Chile's Atacama region detained five Chilean adults after officers found 140 marijuana packages in two vehicles at a service station on Route 5 Norte in Chañaral, and seized 156 kg 692 g of marijuana. Prosecutors formalised trafficking charges against the five and a Chañaral court placed them all in preventive detention; Carabineros valued the haul at about 1.57 billion pesos.
