Quito raids seize 11 kg of cannabis and arrest six
Judicial Police officers raided two properties in El Inca and La Morita, Quito, on the night of 16 September and early on 17 September, arrested six people including a 17-year-old, and seized 11 kg of cannabis, 500 g of cocaine base and a revolver. Police linked the group to Los Lobos.
Judicial Police officers in Quito raided two properties in the El Inca and La Morita neighbourhoods on the night of 16 September and the early hours of 17 September 2026, arresting six people and seizing 11 kilograms of cannabis.[1][2]The operation, called Apolo 41, also found 500 grams of cocaine base, a revolver, five mobile phones, electronic equipment and three scales.[1][2]
Police identified the detainees as Fernando E., 25; Jefferson C., 27; Inés B., 46; José F., 23; Oscar S.; and Alex E., 17.[1][2]Fernando E., Jefferson C., Inés B. and Alex E. are Ecuadorian; José F. and Oscar S. are Venezuelan.[1]The 17-year-old was to be handled by the juvenile justice system.[2]
The investigation lasted about four months and focused on a group that police said stored, hid, moved and sold drugs, weapons and stolen goods.[1][2]Police linked the structure to the gang Los Lobos and said it was led by someone using the alias “Madrina”.[1][2]
Officers also seized a pickup truck and motorcycles with reports of theft.[1][2]El Comercio reported that the truck had been stolen in Calderón on 3 May 2026 and that one motorcycle had been taken in San Antonio de Pichincha on 14 August.[1]The detainees were handed to the prosecutor’s office.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The reports give the operation's dates as the night of 16 September and the early hours of 17 September, without a precise time for each raid.
El Comercio reported two motorcycles seized and Panorama three; this report does not give a total.
Other coverage described Apolo 41 as a wider operation across five Quito sectors; this report covers the two raids in El Inca and La Morita named by El Comercio and Panorama.
The six include a 17-year-old, who was to go to the juvenile justice system; the reports do not say what happened to him after that.
The reports do not say what charges were filed or when the detainees appeared before a judge.
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.
Police arrested Linder Antonio Q. G., known as alias “Titán,” in Santo Domingo on 4 November 2026 during an operation linked to alleged weapons and drug distribution. Authorities reported marijuana and firearms among the evidence, but accounts disagree on the amount seized and the arrest date.
Azuay prosecutors and police searched seven homes in Cuenca on 27 March 2013 during Operativo Etsa, detaining 16 people linked to theft and drug sales around El Arenal market and the Feria Libre. They seized 900 grams of marijuana, cocaine base, cash, vehicle parts and radios; a judge ordered preventive detention for all 16 the next day.
