Busts & seizures
Each report lists agency, location, substances involved and potential sentencing. Items marked pending verification are awaiting editor confirmation from source material — we never publish unverified seizure claims as fact.
Adelaide police seize 3 kg cocaine, $72,595 cash, ketamine, MDMA in Highgate trafficking raid
On Friday 25 September, officers from SAPOL's Serious and Organised Crime Branch searched a property at Highgate, in Adelaide's inner southern suburbs, seizing $72,595 in cash, 3 kilograms of cocaine, 871 grams of ketamine, 385 grams of MDMA and 700 grams of cannabis. A 30-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were arrested and charged with two counts of trafficking a commercial quantity of a controlled drug, two counts of trafficking a large commercial quantity, and one count of trafficking a controlled drug. Both were refused police bail and were due before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday 28 September. Police also seized a Renault van, a Suzuki SUV and a large amount of jewellery and watches under the Criminal Assets Confiscations Act 2005. Detective Chief Inspector Philip Neagle said the seizure demonstrates SAPOL's commitment to 'targeting those involved in the trafficking of illicit drugs and dismantling the criminal networks behind their distribution.' Adelaide Now describes the pair as alleged organisers of a drug ring operating in the city's wealthy inner-south.
Largest MDMA seizure in Argentine history: 52 kg of max-purity ecstasy hidden in a van from Belgium
Argentina's Federal Police seized 52 kilograms of maximum-purity MDMA — the largest synthetic-drug seizure in the country's history, worth an estimated US$18 million and enough for roughly one million ecstasy pills. The drugs arrived from Belgium by ship, hidden in a van: 38 plastic bottles holding 20 kg were found in the fuel tank, and 49 nylon-wrapped packages with another 32 kg inside the door panels and side cavities, detected by non-intrusive scanner after the vehicle sat stranded in the Zárate free zone. The investigation began in March 2026 from a DEA alert about a Mexican organisation moving synthetic drugs by sea; an undercover PFA agent infiltrated the group as a logistics facilitator, and GPS trackers were fitted to the van for a monitored delivery before eight raids across Buenos Aires and Salta. Three men were arrested — a Mexican national sent to receive the vehicle, an Argentine handling security and logistics, and a Venezuelan involved in the cash handover (an informal hawala transfer) — and an international arrest warrant was issued for a second Mexican coordinator. InSight Crime notes the record comes amid expanding European MDMA production seeking new markets in the Southern Cone.
Vancouver's largest-ever cocaine seizure: 328.55 kg in duffle bags inside a T-shirt shipping container
Workers at a legitimate Vancouver company opened a shipping container of T-shirts on July 21 and found 14 duffle bags holding 328.55 kg of cocaine — an estimated C$5.8 million and the largest cocaine seizure in Vancouver Police Department history. Police say the business ordered the clothing legitimately and has no connection to the drugs. The container left Honduras on May 18, stopped in Jamaica on June 6, arrived in Montreal on July 5, then continued to Vancouver — and investigators believe the cocaine was supposed to be unloaded somewhere along that route but 'for some reason, it was not unloaded.' Stamps and packaging point to organised crime, Sgt. Travis Fraser said. No arrests have been made; an international investigation is running with authorities in Canada, Honduras, Jamaica and the US DEA.
FSB seizes 311 kg of Latin America-to-EU cocaine near Moscow; agency video shows bricks branded with Zelensky image
Russia's FSB says it caught a 24-year-old Russian citizen red-handed in the Moscow Region with 311.6 kilograms of cocaine, accusing him of organising an international channel smuggling especially large quantities from Latin America to the European Union. Video released by the agency shows officers stopping a car, handcuffing the suspect and laying out bags of bricks — some bearing a photo of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with dollar signs over the eyes and a '2026' caption. The branding detail comes from the FSB's own footage: similar Zelensky-branded cocaine imagery circulated online in July 2026 and was debunked as a manipulated fake, so the motif's provenance cannot be independently verified. The seizure itself is confirmed by the FSB Public Relations Centre and reported by TASS, RIA Novosti and international outlets.
DEA seizes 339.5 lbs of cocaine ($15.2M) and $700K cash in River Grove, Illinois
DEA agents seized 339.5 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $15.2 million plus roughly $700,000 in cash from a 'stash house' in River Grove after surveilling the crew for weeks. Two men — Burhan Ozerdinc, 33, and Ahmad Sanducka, 33 — are charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 900 grams and were ordered detained.
2,000+ lbs of meth found packed inside cabbage shipment in South Texas
DEA agents peeling apart a commercial cabbage shipment in the Rio Grande Valley found more than 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine concealed inside the produce. The seizure is part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation involving the DEA, HSI, FBI, CBP, Border Patrol and Texas DPS. Authorities have not publicly identified the exact location of the seizure.
13-ton cocaine haul disguised as banana shipment exposes international network
A 13-ton haul of cocaine disguised as a banana shipment has exposed alleged links between US financiers, luxury Dubai real estate and a crypto-trading Irish fintech, Bloomberg Politics reports. The case centers on cocaine concealed in fruit shipments entering Spain and a laundering network spanning three continents.
Largest drug bust in Australian history: nearly $1B cocaine at rural Sydney property
Authorities have executed the largest drug bust in Australian history, uncovering nearly a billion dollars' worth of cocaine at a rural property in western Sydney. Aerial footage shows dozens of shipping containers on the property being examined by investigators.
Bust report (details pending verification)
Source link submitted by editor (TikTok video). Details — location, agency, substances, quantities, arrest/sentencing — pending caption verification.
Bust report (details pending verification)
Source link submitted by editor (TikTok video). Details pending caption verification.
Bust report (details pending verification)
Source link submitted by editor (TikTok video). Details pending caption verification.
CBSA seizes 127 kg of cocaine in a truck at the Ambassador Bridge; two Mississauga men charged
CBSA officers at the Ambassador Bridge — the busiest commercial border crossing in North America — referred a truck arriving from the United States for secondary examination on September 11, 2026. A detector dog found 127 kg of suspected cocaine in the trailer. Two Mississauga men, 61 and 41, were arrested and charged by the RCMP with importation of cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking; the case is before the Ontario Court of Justice in Windsor. The CBSA notes its Southern Ontario Region has seized 1.67 tonnes of cocaine so far in 2026.
385 kg of cocaine found in a commercial truck at the Blue Water Bridge
CBSA officers at the Blue Water Bridge port of entry in Point Edward, Ontario seized approximately 385 kg of suspected cocaine from a commercial truck on August 13, 2026, after the truck was referred for secondary examination. The driver was arrested and charged by the RCMP with importing a controlled substance (CDSA s.6(1)) and possession for the purpose of trafficking (s.5(2)). The seizure is one of the largest single truck interdictions at the crossing and part of a record year for cocaine seizures at Southern Ontario ports of entry.
Coutts border officers find 300 kg of meth and 80 kg of cocaine hidden in a load of bath tissue
CBSA officers at the Coutts port of entry in southern Alberta seized 300 kg of suspected methamphetamine and 80 kg of suspected cocaine from a commercial truck on July 2, 2026. The truck, arriving from California and destined for Vilna, Alberta, had declared a load of bath tissue; officers noticed abnormalities and found the drugs in 12 moving boxes, a smaller box and a duffle bag. The driver was arrested and transferred to RCMP Federal Policing. The CBSA notes Alberta officers made 1,292 narcotics seizures in 2025, including 1,054 kg of cocaine and 279 kg of methamphetamine.