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🇵🇦 Panama /Crime & Justice

Six placed in provisional detention over seizure of 1,180 packages at Pacific port

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement In the courts
  • A Panamanian court ordered six people, including current and former port officials, held provisionally over alleged international drug trafficking.
  • The case concerns 1,180 packages found in a container at a Pacific port in February 2025, with an estimated value of $70 million.
  • Police and prosecutors conducted searches in Panama, West Panama and Colón as they investigate the suspects’ alleged roles.

Six people, including current and former employees of a Pacific port, will remain in provisional detention over their alleged links to international drug trafficking, Panamanian authorities said.

The measure followed a guarantee hearing connected to Operation Port Control, an investigation led by the Public Ministry’s specialized drug-trafficking prosecutors. The case began in February 2025, when authorities found 1,180 packages containing an allegedly illicit substance inside a container at the port.

Investigators said the container originated in Chile, was transshipped through Panama and Belgium, and had Israel as its final destination. Authorities estimate the seized substance was worth about $70 million.

The National Police and the Public Ministry carried out searches and inspections in the provinces of Panama, West Panama and Colón. The arrests formed part of an inquiry into the degree of participation and possible responsibility of those detained in the alleged trafficking operation.

About this summary

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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