Police seize 2.3 tonnes of cocaine hidden in iron pipes in Quindío
Colombia's National Police seized 2.3 tonnes of cocaine in Quindío, disguised as construction material. It is the largest seizure on Colombian roads so far in 2026.
Largest road seizure of the year: 2,300 kilogrammes of cocaine found in Quindío
The National Police stopped a lorry in the La Herradura sector, Quindío department, and found 2.3 tonnes of cocaine hydrochloride hidden inside iron pipes that were being passed off as construction material. According to infobae.com, the institution classified the discovery as the largest seizure recorded on national roads so far in 2026.
The operation was carried out during traffic controls imposed during the San Juan and San Pedro holiday period, when authorities reinforced surveillance on road corridors considered strategic for organised crime.
Colonel Jair Alonso Parra Archila, director of Traffic and Transport at the National Police, detailed the scope of the operation: "We present to the country, from Quindío department, the largest seizure of cocaine hydrochloride on the country's roads. 2.3 tonnes, more than 2,300 kilogrammes of cocaine, which narco-terrorist structures were attempting to send to North America or Europe. Our officers, thanks to their skill, knowledge and experience, detected the movement of this shipment."
The investigation points to narco-terrorist networks planning to remove the drug from the country. The seizure directly affects the finances of these organisations and strengthens police presence in a corridor considered strategic for the transport of narcotics between southwestern and central Colombia.
The operation, in addition to stopping the movement of the cargo, opened new lines of investigation aimed at identifying and apprehending those responsible for the attempted international trafficking attempt.
Clandestine laboratory destroyed in Cumbal and second seizure in Norte de Santander
One day earlier, on Sunday 28 June, the National Police and the Army dismantled a clandestine laboratory in the municipality of Cumbal, Nariño, with capacity to produce up to two tonnes monthly of cocaine. In the same operation they seized one tonne of the alkaloid ready for distribution, 1,040 gallons of cocaine in solution and a significant quantity of chemical supplies.
The director of the National Police, General William Oswaldo Rincón Zambrano, stated that the action directly hit the finances of networks operating in that zone of Nariño. The dismantled infrastructure not only served to manufacture cocaine but also sustained supply of the illegal market.
"We continue to affect the finances of drug trafficking structures forcefully and weaken their criminal capacity," Rincón Zambrano stated.
The intervention in Cumbal came two days after another seizure in Bochalema, Norte de Santander, where authorities removed 1.1 tonnes of cocaine, 300 kilogrammes of cocaine base, 4,309 gallons of liquid chemical substances and 950 kilogrammes of solid supplies used in the processing of the narcotic.
The general presented the set of operations as the result of coordinated work between security forces. According to official information, the actions were not limited to destroying infrastructure or confiscating already processed drugs: they also aimed to interrupt various links in the production and distribution chain, reducing the availability of substances necessary to continue large-scale manufacture.
Source: Google News CO — Crime