Gendarmes arrest 'Anaconda' and find cannabis packaging lab in Mbalmayo home
Gendarmes in Mbalmayo arrested Issa A., 26, known as 'Anaconda', in a restaurant on 3 November 2026 and found cannabis, crack, tramadol and diazepam at his home in the Haoussa quarter, which they described as a drug-packaging laboratory. Neither account gave the weight of the Indian hemp or the amount of money seized.
🇨🇲 Mbalmayo, Nyong-et-So'o, Centre Region · Cameroon
Gendarmes of the Mbalmayo company arrested Issa A., a 26-year-old known as
‘Anaconda’, at around 2 pm on 3 November 2026 in a restaurant in Mbalmayo where
he was eating.[1]The gendarmes had been looking for him since August 2026,
when an informant reported him as a drug seller in the town, and a search notice
was issued in his name.[1]
A body search found four grams of crack, called ‘caillou’ locally, on him.[1]Gendarmes then searched his home in the Haoussa quarter and found what they
described as a packaging laboratory.[1]The search turned up a large quantity
of Indian hemp, some of it loose and some already rolled into balls ready for
sale, as well as tramadol, diazepam, two gas cylinders and packaging equipment.[1]Lebledparle reported that he avoided a fixed sales point and used young
motorcycle couriers to distribute his products.[2]
Two gas cylinders and a large sum of money were also seized, but the exact
amount of the money and the quantities of the substances were not published.[2]Lebledparle said investigations were continuing to establish the extent of
his activities and to identify possible accomplices, including the people who
distributed the products.[2]The Cameroon Tribune said he was about to be
jailed for the fifth time for drug trafficking.[1]
Photos and video
Photo published with the Cameroon Tribune report on the arrest of Issa A., alias 'Anaconda', and the search of his home in the Haoussa quarter of Mbalmayo.Photo details
The sources give no weight for the Indian hemp seized, only that the quantity was large and partly packaged into balls for sale.
The exact amount of money seized was not published.
The suspect is identified only by the name Issa A. and age; whether he was formally charged or only detained, and any court outcome, was not reported.
Cameroon Tribune says he is 'about to be jailed for the fifth time', while Lebledparle describes him as previously known to the courts; the earlier convictions are reported only in general terms.
The two accounts give his name as Issa A. and Issa O. respectively; the initial is left as published in each source.
The photo on the Cameroon Tribune page is captioned only with the headline, with no credit, and is not confirmed to show the hemp, the home or the suspect.
Cameroon Tribune's text is cut off by its subscriber paywall after the list of seized items, so the end of that account could not be read.
Gendarmes at Gamba's mixed checkpoint in North Cameroon arrested a 21-year-old aide-commerçant travelling from Ngong to Ngaoundéré on the night of 11-12 October 2026. They seized 7 kg of cannabis in 14 packets plus shisha charcoal and tobacco that the suspect said came from Nigeria via Touroua.
On 16 September 2026 gendarmes from the Yokadouma company raided a clandestine cannabis plantation at Massea, about 70 km from Yokadouma, after a four-kilometre trek through forest. They arrested six people, seized seven bags of harvested cannabis, and found a homemade firearm with ten 12-gauge rounds.
On 30 July 2025 Haut-Nyong gendarmes cleared about 20,000 m² of cannabis in remote Mindourou and arrested a snack-bar owner known as Jordan, whom they accused of selling cannabis and tramadol to students near the bilingual high school.
On 26 May 2024, gendarmes arrested former taxi driver Nté Eric behind the Etoug-Ebe bilingual high school in Yaoundé and seized three bags of cannabis weighing 45 kg. Presented to the press on 4 June, he said he sold cannabis at Omnisport stadium to support his ill mother, while officers hunted his accomplices.
