152 arrested as Ivory Coast holiday drive seizes 774 kg of cannabis
Ivory Coast's anti-drug units arrested 152 people and destroyed 131 fumoirs, drug-smoking rooms, during Operation Vacances sécurisées 11, the 2026 school-holiday security drive. The prefect of police said the operation seized 774.075 kg of cannabis; he gave the results at Bingerville on 29 October 2026, as he launched its successor, Épervier 12.
Ivory Coast’s anti-drug units arrested 152 people for drug offences during
Operation Vacances sécurisées 11, the prefect of police reported.[1]They also
destroyed 131 fumoirs, the rooms where drugs are smoked.[2]The operation
seized774.075 kilograms of cannabis.[1]
The operation was launched on 16 July 2026 at Yopougon, in Abidjan.[1]Its
results were made public by the prefect of police.[1]He spoke at Bingerville
on 29 October 2026, at the launch of Épervier 12, the operation that follows
Vacances sécurisées 11.[1]He said it was right to renew the same policy for
the school year and the end-of-year holidays.[2]
Épervier 12 is launched simultaneously across the country from Bouaké, with the
police, the gendarmerie, the armed forces (FACI) and the CCDO.[1]It is to
target crime, armed gangs, fumoirs, illegal bus stations and children in
conflict with the law.[1]The prefect called on residents to give information
anonymously, saying a police force without information cannot be effective.[1]The authorities said the operation should keep public order as schools reopen
and the year-end holidays approach.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
152
Cannabis
774.075 kg
Agency type
Gendarmerie, Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (774.075 kg)
Setting
Vehicle
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
Linfodromelinfodrome.comFRÉpervier 12 prend son envol à Bingerville : Le Préfet de Police salue un bilan policier éloquent
AIP (Agence Ivoirienne de Presse)aip.ciFRCôte d’Ivoire-AIP/ Epervier 12 : la contribution des populations sollicitée pour la réussite de l’opération à Bingerville
Open questions the AI reported
The operation was launched on 16 July 2026, but the article gives no closing date; 29 October 2026 is when its results were announced.
The 774.075 kg is a campaign total with no breakdown by seizure, place or date.
No charges or court outcomes were reported for the 152 people arrested.
The article also reports more than 1,500 people held across the operation in all, including beggars, street vendors and sex workers, and separately 701 people apprehended on the crime front; it does not explain how the totals relate, and neither is counted in this report.
The same bilan reports 18.964 tonnes of counterfeit medicines and 15,517 fines, which are outside this cannabis report.
Only Linfodrome reported the 774.075 kg and the 152 arrests; AIP confirmed the launch and the 131 fumoirs but not those figures.
The photographs on the page are uncaptioned launch images and a portrait of the police prefect, not the cannabis seizure, so no photo is linked.
Police seized 160.5 kg of cannabis in 160 blocks from a studio in Bimbresso, Songon, on 3 November 2026 and arrested two men. The suspects and drugs were handed to the anti-drug police, who are continuing the investigation.
The anti-drug unit of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan seized 25.10 kg of cannabis in Grand-Bassam on 22 October 2026 and arrested two people, who were held for investigation. The operation was part of Opération Épervier Spécial.
GRAD officers arrested two people at Mondoukou on 15 October 2026, seizing 53.003 kg of cannabis and 4,808 diverted medicine tablets while destroying seven drug-use dens. The haul was also presented as the unit's cumulative result for 1 to 15 October under Opération Épervier Spécial.
On the night of 12 October 2026 the Aboisso anti-drug unit stopped two ride-hail cars in Grand-Bassam's Quartier France and found 148 kg of cannabis in four parcels. Three men, aged 33, 36 and 47, were arrested. The Grand-Bassam prosecutor was informed.
