Panama Police Seize Drugs from In-Transit Maersk Container
Police in Panama are investigating where and when an “illicit substance” was placed in a shipping container that was in transit in Panama. The seizure, which took place over the weekend, comes as Panama is increasing its efforts, and government officials are pushing ports to increase surveillance efforts on cargo moving through the country.
Panama’s news network TVN is saying the discovery was made as part of a “routine and random operation” carried out at the port of Balboa. The search and seizure, which, from the video released, appeared to be in an access hatch on the container, discovered 39 packages of suspected drugs.
The police in their statement did not say why the particular container was targeted for the search. They reported it was an operation carried out in coordination with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
En un puerto de la localidad, incautamos 39 paquetes de presunta sustancia ilícita dentro de un contenedor proveniente de Marruecos, con tránsito por Panamá y destino final en Nueva Zelanda. #DiosYPatria pic.twitter.com/V7v9MEhdvp
— Policía Nacional (@policiadepanama) September 7, 2025
The report said that the police traced the container with information indicating that the origin was in Morocco and that it was in transit, waiting days in Panama, and scheduled to be loaded onto a second vessel for an onward trip to New Zealand. Maersk’s vessel tracking shows the vessel had made stops in Spain, the U.S., Mexico, and Colombia before reaching Panama. There is no indication of when they think the drugs might have been placed in the container, and it was noted that they were found through the access hatch without opening the doors of the container.
The situation is unusual as TVN reports that Panama remains a strategic transit point for international criminal organizations, but most of the traffic is bound to, not coming from, Europe.
The news report says Security Minister Frank Abrego noted a lack of trained personnel to operate scanners in the ports. The devices are not being continuously operated, but the government is ordering the ports to rectify this within the next 15 days. Further, they report that the President of Panama will conduct a meeting with port managers as part of the efforts to strengthen port security and to further reduce drug trafficking.
TVN reports the emphasis is in part a response to a spike in the amount of narcotics seized at port terminals in Panama this year. It says that up to seven tons of drugs were seized in the first eight months of the year. Moroccan media are also reporting a strong increase in seizures, with over 123 tons of cannabis, 1.9 tons of cocaine, and 16.5 kilograms of heroin seized at the country’s ports in 2024.