Two Americans arrested with 46 marijuana plants in north Quito grow
Ecuadorian police arrested two US citizens in Ponceano, in northern Quito, on 27 May 2026 and found 46 marijuana plants in pots in a property used as a growing, processing and sales centre. Interior Minister John Reimberg said both were high-danger targets wanted in North Carolina, and police said the raid was coordinated with the US Marshals Service.
🇪🇨 Ponceano, north Quito, Pichincha · Ecuador
Arrested
2
Plants destroyed
46
Police arrested two US citizens at a property in Ponceano, in northern Quito,
that they ran as a marijuana growing, processing and sales centre.[1]Ecuadorian police identified the detainees as Hamilton Andrew Sir Rossi and
Eguez Guillermo Octavio, both US nationals.[2]Interior Minister John Reimberg
said on X that both men were considered high-danger targets wanted by US
justice.[1]
Officers found 46 pots holding marijuana plants inside the property.[3]Evidence collected included 6 jars of greenish vegetable matter, 12 plastic bags
of marijuana, three bags of seeds, four digital scales, two laptops, a tablet
and four mobile devices.[3]Police also seized fraudulent identification
documents that Reimberg said were used to stay in hiding inside Ecuador.[1]Officers raided two properties where the grow and processing operation was
allegedly running.[2]
The operation was carried out on 27 May 2026 in Ponceano, in northern Quito.[2]Police said the operation was run in coordination with the US Marshals
Service.[1]Both detainees face outstanding arrest warrants issued by North
Carolina judicial authorities for drug trafficking, conspiracy to traffic drugs
and illegal possession of firearms.[1]
Photos and video
The two detained US citizens with Ecuadorian police after the Ponceano operation in north Quito, 28 May 2026. Photo: Primicias Source: PrimiciasThe marijuana plantation found inside the Ponceano property, north Quito, 27 May 2026. Photo: Fiscalía de Ecuador Source: Primicias
No source states the total weight of the marijuana seized, only 46 pots of plants, 6 jars of greenish vegetable matter and 12 plastic bags of marijuana.
No charges, detention order or court outcome is reported for either detainee, and it is not stated whether the United States has requested their extradition.
Primicias describes a single house in Ponceano while Metro Ecuador and El Universo report two properties raided.
The outlets give the names differently: Primicias uses Hamilton Sir and Guillermo Eguez, El Universo Sir Rossi H. A. and Octavio E., and Metro Ecuador the fuller Hamilton Andrew Sir Rossi and Eguez Guillermo Octavio.
No monetary value for the plantation or the drug was published.
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.
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 army detained three people riding one motorcycle during a CAMEX weapons control in Pifo, Quito, finding two bags of suspected marijuana and one bag of suspected cocaine. The detainees and the seized phones and cash were handed to judicial authorities for legal proceedings.
Police arrested a man in La Alborada, northern Guayaquil, on 7 August 2026 and seized 87 packages of marijuana, some of them flavoured. Police said the haul equalled about 87,000 doses for domestic consumption and was valued at about $34,000.
