8,473 kg of cannabis seized and burned in Ribeira Grande
Cabo Verde's Judicial Police seized 8,473.5 kg of cannabis from cultivation fields in Belém, Mosquito de Horta and Encosta de Santa Clara on 28 October and 4 November 2022. Police weighed the cannabis and then incinerated it all, with Armed Forces support in the November operation.
🇨🇻 Belém, Mosquito de Horta and Encosta de Santa Clara, Ribeira Grande de Santiago, Santiago · Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde’s Judicial Police announced the seizure and destruction in recent
days of almost 8.5 tons of cannabis in several locations on Santiago island.[1]The Judicial Police dismantled cannabis cultivation fields in Ribeira
Grande de Santiago on 28 October and 4 November 2022.[2]The fields were in
Belém, Mosquito de Horta and Encosta de Santa Clara, all in the municipality of
Ribeira Grande de Santiago.[2]The operation was run by the police’s Central
Section for Investigation of Drug Trafficking and Organised Crime, SCITECO, 2nd
Brigade.[2]The accounts of these two operations specify no arrests.[1]
Police put the total seized at 8,473.5 kg of cannabis herb.[2]On 28 October
officers seized 1,322 kg in Belém and 2,258.5 kg in Mosquito da Horta.[3]On 4
November officers seized 3,668 kg in Belém and 1,225 kg in Encosta de Santa
Clara.[3]
Police weighed all the seized cannabis and then incinerated it in those same
localities.[2]Cabo Verde’s Armed Forces supported the 4 November operation in
Belém and Encosta de Santa Clara.[2]
Photos and video
Seized cannabis burning during the incineration in Ribeira Grande de SantiagoPhoto details
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Source: A NaçãoSeized cannabis burning during the incineration in Ribeira Grande de Santiago, another gallery viewPhoto details
Original
1000 × 600 px · JPEG · 169 KB
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Retrieved
6 Nov 2026
Shown
our 320px copy; enlarging loads the original
Source: A NaçãoSeized cannabis burning during the incineration in Ribeira Grande de Santiago, another gallery viewPhoto details
No arrests, charges or court outcomes were reported for the 28 October and 4 November operations; one account expressly says arrests were unspecified.
No count of cannabis plants and no area for the dismantled cultivation fields was published, only the seized weight.
The incident date of 4 November 2022 is the later of the two operation dates given, 28 October and 4 November 2022.
A separate 7 October 2022 operation in Tronco, Ribeira Grande de Santiago, in which about 717 kg of cannabis was seized and a suspect arrested, is a different event already recorded and is left out here.
Police seized 42.3 kg of hashish in six volumes at Boca Ribeira in Praia Branca on São Nicolau island on 20 May 2026. Tests by the judicial police confirmed the material was hashish, and searches continued along the island coast with maritime, air and land resources.
The Polícia Judiciária and the Polícia Nacional dismantled three cannabis plots at Picos Acima in São Salvador do Mundo, on Santiago island, in the early hours of 4 April 2026. About 413 kg of cannabis was seized and destroyed, and a car was taken; no arrests were reported.
Cape Verde's Judicial Police detained a 33-year-old Cape Verdean man at Sal Rei port on Boa Vista on 3 February 2026, seizing 1.50 grams of haxixe. He was presented to the Boa Vista court on 4 February and left subject to scheduling of a summary trial.
Cabo Verde's Polícia Judiciária dismantled cannabis plantations in localities across the interior of Santiago Island on 30 October 2020 and burned 11,728 kg where it was found. About 120 officers took part with Armed Forces support, and police reported no information on detentions.
