Panama seizes 242.9 kg of marijuana off Punta Mala; four held, one later jailed
Panama's aeronaval service stopped a go-fast boat south of Punta Mala, in Los Santos province, on 29 April 2021 and found 335 packages of marijuana weighing 242.9 kilograms, detaining four men, two Panamanian and two Colombian. In January 2022 one of them was sentenced to 100 months in prison for international drug trafficking after a plea agreement.
🇵🇦 South of Punta Mala, Pedasí, Los Santos province, Panama
Arrested
10
Charged
1
Cannabis
242.9 kg
Prison
100 months
Agencies
Servicio Nacional Aeronaval (Senan), Policía Nacional de Panamá +1
Senan units intercepted a go-fast boat south of Punta Mala, in Los Santos
province, and found seven henequén sacks holding 335 packages of marijuana
weighing 242.9 kilograms.[1]Four men were detained in that operation, two
Panamanian and two Colombian, and a go-fast boat was seized.[2]The Los Santos
drug prosecutor’s office brought the four before a judge of guarantees, who was
asked to impose precautionary measures.[2]
In a separate operation the same day, police intelligence units seized 919
packages of undetermined weight and type about ten miles off Punta Mala, in
Pedasí district, and detained two unidentified foreigners.[3]Senan officers
and anti-drug prosecutors also seized 110 packages of undetermined type and
weight in the Archipiélago de las Perlas area and detained four unidentified
people there.[3]The two national forces reported 1,364 packages seized and
ten people detained across the three operations.[3]
At an intermediate hearing the following January, a court sentenced one of the
detainees from the 335-package boat, a man identified as Cándido Rodríguez, to
100 months in prison and 48 months’ disqualification from public office after he
accepted a plea agreement for international drug trafficking.[1]
Photos and video
Sacks in which the marijuana was found in the Punta Mala go-fast boat. Photo: Cortesía SenanPhoto details
The 2021 reports describe the packages only as an undetermined illicit substance pending analysis; the marijuana identification and the 242.9 kilograms come from the prosecutor's office's January 2022 statement.
The official statement dates the interception to 28 April 2021, while the press reports of 29 April say it happened "this Thursday", 29 April; the report uses 29 April.
No weight or type was established for the 919 and 110 packages in the other two operations, so they are not counted as cannabis.
The prosecutor's statement identifies only one convicted man; the outcomes for the other three detainees are not reported.
The prosecutor's office gives the quantity as 242,900.00 grams without a laboratory report.
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.
