Panamanian authorities reported on Wednesday the seizure, in a Caribbean area of Panama, of a large shipment of 1,162 drug packages destined for Spain. The cache of illicit substances was found "hidden inside a container destined for Spain," during a raid on a port on the Atlantic Coast conducted by security agencies and the anti-drug prosecutor's office of the Public Ministry (MP), the investigating body reported on X. The information does not specify the type of drug seized or the total weight, although drug packages usually weigh a kilogram, and cocaine is the most trafficked drug through Panama's ports. On November 11 of last year, Panama reported the "historic" seizure of 13,508 kilograms of cocaine, valued on the market at around 200 million dollars, from a tugboat intercepted in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, which was sailing towards North America from Colombia. In this seizure, 10 nationals of Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Colombia were captured and have been presented before the competent authorities to be charged with the crime of international trafficking of illicit substances. Panama is a transit country for drugs produced in South America and destined for the United States—the world's largest consumer of cocaine—and Europe. According to official data, it seized around 80 tons of illicit substances in 2024.
