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Current events
Dated, sourced records of the policy, enforcement and eradication events that affect landrace cannabis populations: 363 records logged since 1942, filterable below by category, country, province, year and campaign.
The Fiji Police Force said on 9 August 2026 that officers from the Northern Division Operations team had discovered and uprooted more than 2,000 plants believed to be marijuana in the rugged Vatuyalewa mountain range. In a separate operation police destroyed more than 200 further suspected marijuana plants in the Nasea farming area at Tukavesi. Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations Kasiano Vusonilawe said cultivators had changed their methods to avoid detection and that enhanced information sharing and the use of drones had helped officers locate farms in difficult terrain. The operations were supported by the Joint Task Force, which includes the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. The dates of the two operations were not stated. Police separately reported multiple arrests for alleged unlawful possession of illicit drugs across all five policing divisions over the previous week. Reported by Anish Chand for the Fiji Times.
Fiji · Northern Division
Four arrested as police seize 22 bags of cannabis from a car and motorcycle in Barahkshetra, Sunsari
Police in Sunsari arrested four people after finding 22 bags of cannabis in a car and on a motorcycle travelling on the road between Barahkshetra and Chatara in Barahkshetra Municipality-1. The car's driver Thaman Rai (34) of Dharan, his passenger Jeevani Rai (22) of Manebhanjyang in Okhaldhunga, motorcyclist Amar Kamat (26) and pillion passenger Shankar Chaudhary (38), both of Kathari in Morang, were taken into custody and held at the area police office in Mahendranagar. District Police Office information officer Chandra Bahadur Khadka confirmed the arrests to the national news agency RSS. Reported by Enewspolar on 8 August 2026.
Nepal · Koshi Province · Sunsari · Barahkshetra
Acting on a tip-off, the Rameswaram Sub-Divisional Crime Branch with Uchipuli police searched the Prabhan Walasai beach area of Ramanathapuram district from 4.00 am on 7 August 2026 and stopped a passing van found to be carrying about 290 kg of cannabis hidden inside. Police said the consignment was to be smuggled to Sri Lanka. Two men, P Dinesh (24) of Ramanathapuram and S Kalanjeeswaran (22) of Pillai Math near Mandapam, were arrested; an investigation into the wider network continued. Reported by ANI on 7 August 2026.
India · Tamil Nadu · Ramanathapuram · Uchipuli
Police at a roadblock at Jenda in Mzimba District intercepted a Toyota Sienta travelling from Lilongwe to Mzuzu and found 19.2 kg of suspected cannabis hidden inside the vehicle. Officers arrested David Chikomeni Chirwa (49), a board member of Malawi's Cannabis Regulatory Authority known as Ras Chikomeni, together with Storm Kandodo (45). Both were charged with possession of cannabis without a permit and were expected to appear in court. The authority on whose board Chirwa sits regulates cannabis cultivation, possession and permits in Malawi. Reported by Nyasa Times on 7 August 2026.
Malawi · Northern Region · Mzimba · Jenda
Officers of Telangana's EAGLE Force with railway police arrested a 22-year-old man, Niranjan Pradhan, with 18.5 kg of cannabis on the Konark Express at Hyderabad on 7 August 2026 during a checking operation. Police valued the seizure at Rs 9.26 lakh and said Pradhan was carrying the consignment from Odisha towards Pune on the instructions of a supplier, Deepak Pradhan, who is absconding. The man and the seized cannabis were handed to the Government Railway Police at Nampally for investigation. Reported by Telangana Today on 7 August 2026.
India · Telangana · Hyderabad · Nampally
A Rapid Action Battalion team raided Block B of the Kutupalong registered Rohingya camp in Ukhiya upazila, Cox's Bazar, at about 2.00 pm on 7 August 2026 and detained two female residents, aged 17 and 47. RAB-15 said officers found eight rounds of ammunition carried by the younger detainee and recovered 5 kg of cannabis with a mobile phone from a room near the older woman's shelter. RAB alleged both were involved in drug trafficking inside the camp; the detainees and the seized items were handed to Ukhiya police for legal action. Reported by Views Bangladesh on 8 August 2026.
Bangladesh · Chattogram Division · Cox's Bazar · Kutupalong
The Medicinal Cannabis Authority of Saint Kitts and Nevis, with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources, launched a national seed-to-sale tracking system monitoring the medicinal cannabis supply chain from cultivation to retail. The digital platform was developed by the Canadian provider Grower IQ. Agriculture minister Samal Duggins said implementation of the system establishes the foundation for commercial licensing, patient registration and future research initiatives. Reported by ZIZ on 7 August 2026.
Saint Kitts and Nevis · Basseterre
Hong Kong Customs arrested two male mainland Chinese passengers, aged 37 and 32, at Hong Kong International Airport on 7 August 2026 after finding a total of about 9.8 kg of suspected cannabis buds in their carry-on suitcases, 4.8 kg in one case and 5 kg in the other. Both men had arrived on flights from Bangkok. Customs estimated the market value at about HK$2 million. One of the two was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug for appearance at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on 10 August while the investigation continued. Reported by Bastille Post on 8 August 2026.
Hong Kong · Hong Kong International Airport
The Excise department incinerated 696.1 kg of marijuana, worth an estimated ₹3.5 crore, at the government-approved disposal facility at Gopalpet in Tallada mandal, Khammam district, Telangana, on 6 August 2026. The Hindu reported that the material had been seized in 32 cases registered by four excise stations: Kothagudem (316.07 kg), Bhadrachalam (329.51 kg), Palvancha (43.62 kg) and Manuguru (6.9 kg). Khammam Deputy Commissioner Somireddy ordered the incineration, which was carried out in the presence of Excise Superintendent Srinivas Reddy, circle inspectors and other departmental officials under the prescribed procedure for the disposal of narcotic substances. The event disposed of evidence from earlier seizures; the origin of the cannabis was not stated. Reported by The Hindu.
India · Telangana · Khammam District · Gopalpet
Amy Jayne Durban (45), of Hemyock in Devon, pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court on 6 August 2026 to smuggling Class B drugs after Border Force officers found 51.2 kg of cannabis in two suitcases she brought off a Bangkok flight at Heathrow Airport on 6 July. The National Crime Agency, which investigated, said the cannabis had a street value of at least £512,000. Durban was remanded after an earlier appearance at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court and is to be sentenced on 14 October. NCA senior investigating officer Mark Abbott warned that couriers caught smuggling cannabis face prison and lasting damage to career and travel prospects. Reported by the National Crime Agency on 7 August 2026.
United Kingdom · England · Greater London · Heathrow Airport
The Narcotics Control Bureau's Visakhapatnam Zonal Unit seized more than 30 kg of hashish oil valued at over ₹3 crore and arrested three men during an operation at Dumbriguda in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, Andhra Pradesh, the agency reported on 6 August 2026. The NCB described the three as part of an inter-state trafficking network: a 47-year-old from Idukki district in Kerala, a 26-year-old from Ralagadda village in Malkangiri district of Odisha said to have acted as the intermediary and a 22-year-old student from Dumbriguda said to have transported the consignment. Preliminary investigation indicated the hashish oil was procured from remote areas of Odisha; no processing site or plantation was reported found. The operation followed specific intelligence and the date of the seizure was not stated. The NCB said the investigation into other members of the network was continuing. Reported by the Deccan Chronicle.
India · Andhra Pradesh · Alluri Sitharama Raju District · Dumbriguda
Police in Khotang seized 1,315 kg of cannabis from a truck parked in forest at Waling in Ward 7 of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality, on the Mid-Hill Highway. A team led by Inspector Nirajan Basnet of the District Police Office checked the suspiciously parked vehicle at around midnight on Thursday 6 August 2026 and found the cannabis hidden in a false bottom built between the driver's cab and the cargo bed. The truck, registered Province 1-02-002 Kh 0083, was taken to the district police office; the search for its driver and owner was continuing. Reported by Ratopati on 7 August 2026.
Nepal · Koshi Province · Khotang · Waling
Hong Kong Customs arrested a 46-year-old male mainland Chinese passenger at Hong Kong International Airport on 6 August 2026 after finding about 6 kg of suspected cannabis buds packed in 20 bags in his carry-on suitcase. The man had arrived on a flight from Bangkok. Customs put the estimated market value at about HK$1.2 million. He was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug for appearance at Kowloon City Magistrates' Court on 8 August; trafficking carries a maximum penalty of a HK$5 million fine and life imprisonment under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. Reported by Bastille Post on 7 August 2026.
Hong Kong · Hong Kong International Airport
Operatives of the 1st Bukidnon Provincial Mobile Force Company and the Malaybalay City Police Station, coordinating with the Bukidnon Provincial Intelligence Unit, uprooted 321 fully grown plants alleged to be marijuana during a combat patrol at Sitio Talahidan, Barangay Caburacanan, Malaybalay City, at about 4.20 pm on 6 August 2026. Lieutenant Colonel Dave Mahilum, the company's commander, put the estimated market value of the crop at ₱64,200. After a physical inventory at the site witnessed by a barangay councillor, officers burned 311 hills of the contraband in place and submitted 10 hills to the Provincial Forensic Unit in Malaybalay City as representative specimens for laboratory examination. No arrests were reported. Reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on 9 August 2026.
Philippines · Bukidnon · Malaybalay · Caburacanan
Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service Bashir Adeniyi announced on 6 August 2026 that operatives of the TinCan Island Port Command in Lagos had intercepted two 40-foot containers of cannabis-infused food products shipped from the United States, concealed among imported vehicles, generators, batteries and fabrics. The seizure comprised 8,720 Delta-8 cannabis pre-roll cookies weighing 17.44 kg, 740 packs of cannabis-infused gummies weighing 515.2 kg and 873 cartons of cannabis-infused cookies in 442 packs weighing 309.4 kg, a combined street value the service put at N373.8 million. Adeniyi said the flavoured packaging resembled ordinary snacks and could appeal to children and students. The products were handed to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, which said two suspects were in custody. The same briefing announced the interception of a container of pump-action rifle components on 8 July, from which 140 rifles had been assembled. Reported by The Eagle Online on 7 August 2026.
Nigeria · Lagos State · Apapa · Tin Can Island Port
The Fiji Police Force reported on 5 August 2026 that close to 8,000 plants believed to be cannabis had been seized in an operation at the Bilobiloca farming area in the Northern Division. Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations Kasiano Vusonilawe said the raid was made possible through information sharing, with a drone deployed to confirm the cultivation site before the operation. He said community support had been instrumental in the success of such raids and said drug operations also targeted other offences alongside illicit drugs. Police urged the public to use the 1681 line to report crime, share information or raise service concerns. Reported by Inoke Rabonu for the Fiji Sun.
Fiji · Northern Division
A 27-year-old Warrington woman, Shannon Bragg of Latchford, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on 5 August 2026 after pleading guilty to importing cannabis. Bragg landed at Manchester Airport on 2 June on a flight from Bangkok carrying only hand luggage; Border Force officers found evidence in it that she had checked in two cases, retrieved the suitcases from the belt and found 32 black packages holding 35.3 kg of cannabis. The court heard she had been offered a free holiday to carry the cases back and that naivety, immaturity and an element of grooming played into her decision. Judge Nicholas Dean, saying her time on remand was punishment enough, imposed a 12-month community order with up to ten rehabilitation activity days and a 12-month mental health treatment requirement. Reported by the Warrington Guardian on 7 August 2026.
United Kingdom · England · Greater Manchester · Manchester Airport
A team from the Narcotics Control Bureau arrested two Indian nationals, aged 43 and 32, at the New Buspark in Gongabu, Kathmandu, on 5 August 2026. Police recovered 5 kg of cannabis brought from Thailand from the older man. The pair had come to collect the consignment in a vehicle with Uttar Pradesh plates driven from Ludhiana; when officers pursued it the driver and another occupant abandoned it on the Prithvi Highway at Kanakot in Dhading, where a further half kilogram was found hidden under the seats. SP Durga Raj Regmi said the bureau's investigation indicates cannabis smuggled from Thailand into Kathmandu moves onward to India in Indian-plated vehicles. Two absconding suspects are being sought. Reported by Ratopati on 6 August 2026.
Nepal · Bagmati Province · Kathmandu · Gongabu
Two arrested as multi-agency raid yields cannabis worth KSh 1.5 million at Divayo village in Malindi
A multi-agency security team acting on intelligence raided Divayo village in Malindi Sub-County, Kilifi County, arresting two suspects and recovering cannabis with an estimated street value of KSh 1,548,000, Capital FM reported on 4 August 2026. Officers uprooted 43 kg of growing cannabis plants and confiscated 8.5 kg of harvested cannabis along with six individual rolls, a total recovery of 51.6 kg. The recovered items were secured as court exhibits at Langobaya Police Station. The two suspects remained in custody pending arraignment on drug-related charges. Reported by Yvonne Mandela for Capital FM.
Kenya · Kilifi · Malindi · Divayo
Gandaki Province's Bill to Regulate and Utilise Cannabis Cultivation for Medicinal and Industrial Purposes, 2026 was authenticated by Province Chief Dilliraj Bhatta on 4 August 2026 after a second passage through the provincial assembly, which had first passed it on 14 July. The law creates five-year renewable licences for medicinal or industrial cultivation, open to applicants holding owned or leased land of at least two ropani (about 1,018 square metres) inside cultivation zones to be designated by the provincial industry and tourism ministry, with a purchase commitment from a pharmaceutical or manufacturing company. Cannabis must test at or below 0.3 percent THC before harvest, storage, transport, processing or sale. Administrative violations carry fines of Rs50,000 to Rs500,000 while unlicensed cultivation remains criminal under federal narcotics law. The law enters into force on publication in the provincial gazette and licensing awaits implementing regulations. Chief Attorney Chiranjeevi Sharma Paudel said the law was introduced primarily to benefit farmers. Reported by the Kathmandu Post on 7 August 2026.
Nepal · Gandaki Province
The Bireuen District Prosecutor's Office (Kejaksaan Negeri Bireuen) destroyed 155,487.39 grams of dried cannabis and 156.66 grams of methamphetamine in the courtyard of its office in Bireuen, Aceh, on 4 August 2026. The exhibits came from five cannabis cases and 17 methamphetamine cases concluded with legally final verdicts between March and July 2026. Chief prosecutor Yarnes led the ceremony, witnessed by Bireuen police chief AKBP Yulhendri, the district office of the National Narcotics Agency, the district court and the Mahkamah Syariah. The cannabis, including a stalk more than two metres long with its root still attached, was burned; the methamphetamine was ground in a blender and mixed with water. The event disposed of evidence from earlier seizures; no cultivation site was involved and the origin of the cannabis was not stated. Reported by Yusmandin Idris for Serambi Indonesia.
Indonesia · Aceh · Bireuen
Customs officers at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport intercepted two Indian nationals, identified by the initials AR (28) and PC (31), on their arrival in Bali from Koh Samui via Singapore on 3 August 2026. Officers found 14 boxes holding ten packages of cannabis with a net weight of 10,110 grams concealed inside food and toy boxes in their luggage. The Ngurah Rai Customs and Excise Office put the street value at around Rp3.3 billion (about US$200,000) and said the pair had been due to continue to India; each admitted being promised US$150 by an individual in Thailand. The seizure was announced on 7 August. Reported by Antara on 7 August 2026.
Indonesia · Bali · Badung · I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport
Detectives from the Anti-Narcotics Unit based in Molo, working with officers from Molo Police Station, searched a home in the Munju area of Molo at dawn and recovered a quantity of cannabis that police believed had been prepared for distribution. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said the haul comprised one full sack, 55 blue carrier bags of five-kilogram capacity and one half-filled sack, totalling 35.7 kg with a street value of KSh 1,071,000. Eric Asande Albert, 45, was arrested at the property and held at Molo Police Station while detectives completed investigations ahead of his arraignment. The DCI said the haul was secured and detained as exhibits.
Kenya · Nakuru · Molo · Munju
Officers from Macalder Police Station on routine patrol in the Pap Rombe area of Nyatike sub-county signalled a motorcyclist to stop. The National Police Service said the rider failed to comply, was pursued and was intercepted shortly afterwards. A search of the rider and his luggage produced several rolls of a substance suspected to be cannabis, tightly wrapped and concealed beneath layers of clothing. The suspect was held at Macalder Police Station pending arraignment, with the impounded motorcycle and the recovered material secured as exhibits for prosecution.
Kenya · Migori · Nyatike · Macalder
Detectives from the Anti-Narcotics Unit in the Coast Region, working with officers from Mariakani Police Station, stopped a passenger bus travelling from Busia to Mombasa at the Mariakani weighbridge and recovered five gunny bags of cannabis hidden beneath a consignment of bananas. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said the officers acted on intelligence that led them to the weighbridge. A 45-year-old woman identified by police as the owner of the consignment was arrested at the scene and held pending arraignment. The recovered cannabis was seized as an exhibit while investigations continued.
Kenya · Kilifi · Kaloleni · Mariakani
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