Mexican naval personnel intercepted a shipment of 270 kilograms of cocaine at the port of Manzanillo, Colima, on Friday, uncovering 268 packages of the drug concealed inside a shipping container, the Mexican Navy (Semar) confirmed. The drugs were found during offloading operations from a container vessel by members of the Naval Port Protection Unit (UNAPROP), working alongside customs and security agencies including the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM), the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection (SSPC), and the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) with its Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC).

Aboard the same vessel, two men of foreign origin were located and subsequently presented to migration authorities for being in Mexico irregularly. Semar reported both individuals were in good health and that they were handed over to the appropriate authorities to determine their legal status. However, the Navy did not specify whether the men are suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, and official sources in Mexico have not confirmed a direct link between the migrants and the seized narcotics, leaving the nature of their connection to the illicit cargo an open question. The cocaine itself has been transferred to the public prosecutor’s office for investigation.

The Manzanillo seizure came one day after Semar confiscated 137 kilograms of cocaine and arrested five Ecuadorian nationals during a similar operation at the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán. These interdictions form part of ongoing port security and counter-narcotics efforts by the Mexican Navy along the country’s Pacific coast, a region that serves as a major transshipment corridor for South American cocaine destined for the United States.

Separately, in Baja California, Semar personnel seized 27,000 litres of hydrocarbon fuel during a raid on a property in Tecate, while a patrol in Playas de Rosarito led to the arrest of two men (one from the area and one from Guerrero state) and the seizure of methamphetamine and marijuana, according to a Navy statement. Meanwhile, federal police in Brazil intercepted 6 kilograms of cocaine in Macapá, Amapá state, arresting two men after monitoring a vessel that had departed from Belém, Pará. Authorities there are investigating possible further links.

All cases remain under active investigation, with individuals detained facing potential criminal charges related to drug trafficking and, in the case of the Baja California fuel, theft of hydrocarbons. No injuries were reported in any of the operations.