788 marijuana packages seized in Pocrí; four foreigners held
Police seized 788 packages of marijuana from a boat at La Calendaria beach in Pocri, Los Santos, on Carnival Sunday and detained four undocumented foreigners. The delegated drug prosecutor for Herrera and Los Santos opened an investigation after a field test was positive for marijuana.
🇵🇦 La Calendaría beach, Pocrí, Los Santos · Panama
Arrested
4
Agencies
Policía Nacional de Los Santos, Fiscalía Delegada de Drogas de Herrera y Los Santos
Police in Pocrí, in Panama’s Los Santos province, apprehended four foreigners
who were found close to the coast of Pocrí during the Carnival security
operation.[1]National Police personnel in Pocrí detained the four men, whose
nationalities were still to be confirmed because they were carrying no
documentation of any kind.[1]
Officers seized 788 rectangular packages of the drug known as marijuana from a
boat at La Calendaría beach in the Pocrí sector on the afternoon of Carnival
Sunday.[1]A field test carried out on the seized packages at the scene
returned a positive result for marijuana.[1]Los Santos National Police chief
Frank Pinilla said specialists in amphibious operations and officers of the
Anti-Drug Operations Directorate located the drugs during the operations then
under way.[1]
The Delegated Drug Prosecutor’s Office for the provinces of Herrera and Los
Santos opened inquiries into the case.[1]Pinilla added that police maintained
full Carnival operability throughout the country while also responding to any
additional illicit activity that might occur.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
4
Agencies
Policía Nacional de Los Santos; Fiscalía Delegada de Drogas de Herrera y Los Santos
Agency type
Police, Prosecutor
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis
Setting
Vehicle
Case stage
Under investigation
Region
Los Santos
Sources
La Prensa Panamáprensa.comESAutoridades se incautan de 788 paquetes de marihuana en Pocrí | La Prensa Panamá
Open questions the AI reported
No weight was published for the 788 packages, so no kilograms can be recorded.
The four detainees' nationalities were still unconfirmed because they carried no documents.
No charges, detention ruling or court outcome was reported; the case was at the investigation stage.
Only one accessible source for this 2018 event was found after searching in Spanish and English.
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.
