Five held after 284 marijuana packages seized off Panama's Chimán
Panama's aeronaval service intercepted two boats off Isla Majé in Chimán district on 24 April 2016 and seized 284 packages of marijuana, confirmed by a field test. Four Colombian crew and one Colombian-Panamanian man in a second boat were detained and handed to anti-drug prosecutors.
🇵🇦 Isla Majé, Chimán district, Panamá Province · Panama
Panama’s National Aeronaval Service, Senan, intercepted a boat named “El Compa”
carrying four Colombian crew members and found bundles of drugs on board.[1]Agents also detained a second, homemade-style boat crewed by one Colombian man
who had a Panamanian nationality and five 18-gallon fuel tanks with him.[1]The five detainees were placed at the disposal of the Second Superior
Prosecutor’s Office for Drug-Related Offences, which did not release their
identities.[1]During the operation named San Esteban de Antioquía, five
people and two boats carrying the illicit substance were detained.[2]
Aeronaval commissioner Joe Laniado confirmed the seizure of 284 packages of
marijuana on Tuesday, 26 April.[2]Senan found 284 packages of marijuana in
the operation, which it named San Esteban de Antioquía.[3]The packages were
divided into 14 bultos, or bundles, according to the agency.[3]Second
specialised prosecutor Julio Villarreal said a preliminary field test confirmed
the substance was marijuana.[3]
The operation took place the previous Sunday within the perimeter of Isla Maje
in Chimán district.[1]
Laniado said traffickers keep changing their methods and continue trying to
breach Panama’s borders and coasts.[2]He said Senan and other security
agencies carry out constant sea and air patrols against drug trafficking.[2]
The articles give no weight for the 284 packages and no street value, so no kilograms or value are recorded.
Isla Majé and the second boat's position are not given more precisely than the perimeter of the island, so the coordinates are those of Chimán town.
No charges, custody ruling, sentence or other court outcome for the five detainees was reported.
Crítica reports the operation on the previous Sunday, 24 April 2016; the report uses that date, while all three accounts were published on 26 April.
Only one of the five detainees is described as Colombian with Panamanian nationality, while Crítica's headline and a later paragraph count all five as Colombians.
TVN names the second specialised prosecutor as Javier Villarreal while Día a Día names him as Julio Villarreal.
The TVN photo and video thumbnail address could not be confirmed as showing this seizure, so only the TVN video player is listed as media.
Panama’s Senafront border service seized 914 rectangular packages of suspected marijuana in Playa Muerto, Darién, detaining two people. The operation also netted phones, GPS devices and a twin-engine boat, with detainees and evidence handed to prosecutors.
Interpol's six-week Operation Orca XI across 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries seized 38.5 tonnes of marijuana alongside other drugs and 3,308 illegal firearms, with more than 8,700 people detained. The marijuana was part of multi-drug seizures reported in 10 participating countries between 15 October and 30 November 2025.
Colombia's police director, general William Salamanca, announced on 26 November 2024 that a joint operation south of Isla Jicarón, Veraguas, had seized 1,184 kilos of marijuana and 704 kilos of cocaine from a Go-Fast boat. Three people described as Nicaraguan and Costa Rican were captured and handed to Panamanian authorities.
Panama's border service Senafront and prosecutors seized 5,900 cylindrical capsules of suspected liquid THC in Clarita, Chepo district, during Operación Manto Oscuro. Suspects carrying three sacks fled into the jungle when challenged, and authorities valued the shipment at 500,000 balboas.
