Ecuador police seize 247 kg of marijuana from a van in Quinindé and arrest the driver
National Police arrested a man in Quinindé canton, Esmeraldas, on 7 May 2026 after finding 246.750 kg of marijuana in the silver van he was driving. Police valued the load at about US$915,560 on the national market, while the Interior Ministry first announced 235 kilos in 235 bundles.
Ecuador’s National Police arrested a man in Quinindé canton, Esmeraldas
province, on 7 May 2026 for allegedly transporting marijuana.[1]Interior
Minister John Reimberg announced the operation that Thursday night and said 235
kilos of marijuana in 235 bundles were found in the Cupa sector of Quinindé.[2]
Police found 246.750 grams of marijuana inside a silver van after officers
stopped and searched the vehicle.[1]The National Police put the load’s value
at about US$915,560 on the national market.[1]Police retained a mobile phone
and the van.[1]Primicias reported that the operation took place in Quinindé
canton and that the detained man had earlier drug-trafficking cases.[3]
The government’s night curfew under which the operation took place applied in
Esmeraldas, Guayas and other provinces.[3]Primicias reported that officers
also confiscated a mobile phone and cash.[3]
The man and the seized items were handed to the competent authority.[1]Authorities had not said where the marijuana was headed, and had released no
details on anyone else linked to the load.[2]
Photos and video
Police agents logging evidence beside the packed marijuana blocks after the seizure in Quinindé on 7 May 2026. Photo: Policía NacionalPhoto details
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Source: El UniversoThe man detained over the marijuana find in Quinindé, Esmeraldas. Photo: Ministerio del InteriorPhoto details
El Universoeluniverso.comESIncautan 235 kilos de marihuana en Quinindé, una persona fue aprehendida durante el operativo
Primiciasprimicias.ecESPolicía decomisa 235 kilos de marihuana ocultos en una furgoneta en Esmeraldas
Open questions the AI reported
The Interior Ministry, Primicias and El Universo announced 235 kilos in 235 bundles, while the National Police's statement gives 246.750 grams; this report uses the police weighing and keeps 235 kilos in the text as the earlier figure.
El Universo and Primicias place the operation in the Cupa sector of Quinindé but the police statement names only the canton, so the exact stopping point is unclear.
No charges, court hearing or detention order is reported, and the man is identified in the police statement only as Luis P.
El Universo said it had no details on whether anyone else was linked to the load, and no destination for the drug was given.
The value is the National Police's national-market estimate, not a court valuation.
Primicias mentions cash confiscated but gives no amount, so no cash figure is recorded.
Ecuador's National Police stopped an interprovincial bus at the Km 24 circuit and found 4,153 grams of marijuana hidden in a passenger's backpack. A Colombian man identified as the luggage's owner was detained and placed at the disposal of the judicial authority.
Ecuadorian army troops searched a house at the entrance to Monterrey, in La Concordia canton, and found about 100 grams of a greenish substance believed to be marijuana, along with cocaine, 140 rounds of 9 mm ammunition and a homemade revolver. No one was arrested and the army did not identify the owners of the house.
Ecuador's National Police seized 26 grams of marijuana from a Quito-to-Manta parcel at Manta's bus terminal on 30 October 2026 after detector dog CUMI alerted. No one was detained; prosecutors opened an inquiry into the sender and recipient.
Ecuador's National Police seized 535.03 kg of marijuana, packed in 350 rectangular parcels, from an SUV in San Miguel de Ibarra and arrested the driver, named in one report as Jorge M. The force valued the load at more than US$414,000 on the domestic market.
