Officers from the Tohouè arrondissement police station in Sèmè-Podji commune carried out an operation overnight from Friday 28 to Saturday 29 August 2026.[1][2][3] The intervention followed intelligence reporting narcotics trafficking by sea in the locality.[1][3] Police watching the area spotted a Toyota Highlander being used to load psychotropic products.[4][2][3] As officers approached, the driver and the people loading the parcels fled and were still being sought.[1][2][3] A second account says the driver and those involved in the loading slipped away when police arrived.[4]

A thorough search and weighing of the load counted 265.24 kilograms of chanvre indien, or Indian hemp.[1][2][3] The second paper gives the same haul as 265 kilograms and 24 grams of Indian hemp.[4] The Republican Police seized both the vehicle and the entire drug consignment.[1][3] The second account likewise says the vehicle and the drugs were taken by police.[4]

Investigations were continuing to determine the exact origin and final destination of the illicit shipment.[1][2] No arrested person was named and no charges or court outcome were reported.[1]

Suspects could be presented to the special prosecutor at the Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET) after the investigations.[2] The operation took place at Sèmè-Okoun in the commune of Sèmè-Podji.[2]