Army seizes nearly 2 kg of marijuana on Rio Coco; one detained
Nicaraguan Army troops detained a 22-year-old passenger on the Rio Coco in Ayapal, Jinotega, during a river control operation. They seized five bags of marijuana weighing 1,975.3 grams from a plastic bucket he carried.
🇳🇮 Rio Coco, comarca Plis, microrregion de Ayapal, Jinotega · Nicaragua
Nicaraguan Army troops detained 22-year-old Erling Manuel Cordoba Alfaro during
a fluvial control operation on the Rio Coco in the Plis community, Ayapal
microregion, Jinotega.[1]He was travelling as a passenger aboard a pipante, a
small river boat, when military forces intercepted him on the river.[1]The
detained man and the seized drug were handed over to the corresponding
authorities for judicial proceedings.[1]
During the inspection the authorities seized from him a plastic bucket
containing five black bags of marijuana.[1]The marijuana weighed 1,975.3
grams in total, just under two kilograms, according to the authorities.[1]The
Army described the action as a fluvial control operation carried out by its
personnel on the waters of the Rio Coco.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
On 27 October 2026, Nicaraguan police at El Guasaule found 608 packages with 1,907 kg of cannabis hidden in a Mexico-to-Costa Rica truck. They arrested Guatemalan driver Fredy Bladimiro Recinos Vargas, 52, and seized the tractor and trailer.
Nicaragua's Naval Force seized 359 kg of marijuana and 351 kg of cocaine between August 2025 and July 2026, part of a 710 kg drug total reported for its 46th anniversary. The report named no detainee figure for the seizures.
Police detained six alleged drug suppliers in a wider Managua anti-crime sweep covering 5–11 January 2026, seizing 2 pounds (about 0.907 kg) of marijuana. Police listed the marijuana with 130 grams of cocaine, 72 grams of crack and cash, and spokeswoman Karen Obando presented the results as continuing work to protect people, families and communities.
Nicaragua's National Police detained 11 people with 54 pounds of marijuana in Managua, Kukra Hill, Jinotega and Quilalí during operations from 30 September to 6 October 2024. The cannabis seizures were part of a week-long roundup in which 29 people were held for homicide, robbery and drug trafficking.
