
InSight Crime’s 2024 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up

Despite record cocaine seizures in production and transit countries, huge quantities of the drug arrived in consumer markets in 2024.
Across the board, cocaine production soared and traffickers explored new markets to profit from their never-before-seen levels of supply. Record-breaking seizures became the norm across the world, yet these multi-ton interdictions likely made only a small dent in what has become one of the most lucrative and violent industries for Latin American organized crime.

Production Countries
Cocaine seizures in producer countries broke records in 2024 amid historically high levels of drug production.
.título-del-gráfico{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;color: #3B3B3B;font-weight: bold;margin-top: 0;padding-top: 0;font-size: 28px;}.título-del-gráfico-normal{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;font-weight: bold;color: #3B3B3B;margin-bottom: 20px !important;padding: 0;font-size: 28px;display: block;}.subtítulo-del-gráfico{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;color: #3B3B3B;font-style: normal;font-size: 20px;}.subtítulo-con-color{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;color: unset !important;font-style: bold;}.fuente-del-gráfico{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;color: #B3B3B3;margin-top: 20px !important;padding-top: 0 !important;text-align: right;font-size: 13px;display: block;}.annotation-group{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;color: #3B3B3B;font-size: 12px;}.etiquetas{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;text-shadow: -1px 0 #FAFAFA,0 1px #FAFAFA,1px 0 #FAFAFA,0 -1px #FAFAFA;color: #3B3B3B;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;}.eje-x path{stroke: #3B3B3B;stroke-width: 2;}.eje-x text{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;font-size: 15px;}.eje-x-título{text-anchor: middle;font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;font-size: 15px;font-style: italic;fill: #B3B3B3;}.eje-y text{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;font-size: 13px;fill: #B3B3B3;}.eje-y-título{font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;font-size: 15px;font-style: italic;fill: #B3B3B3;}.eje-y line{stroke: #b3b3b3;stroke-width: .03em;}.eje-y2 line{stroke: #B3B3B3;}.eje-y path{stroke: none;}.plot-subtitle{font-size: 17px;font-family: ‘Noto Sans’,sans-serif;fill: #3B3B3B;}.logo-ic{font-family: ‘Georgia’;font-size: 18px;font-style: italic;letter-spacing: 1px;fill: #A5A5A5;}.flex-container{display: flex;flex-wrap: wrap;justify-content: space-between;row-gap: 40px}.flex-item{flex-basis: 200px;flex-grow: 1;flex-shrink: 1;margin: 10px;margin-bottom: 0px;padding-bottom: 0px;}
Metric tons of cocaine seized per year in producer countries
Peru’s record-setting nine-ton seizure of cocaine was the largest individual bust of any production country. Both Peru and Bolivia registered massive increases in the total amount of cocaine they confiscated in 2024. And while Colombia’s domestic seizures decreased, its involvement in international seizures set yet another record.
Peru
Peru made history in 2024 with its largest ever seizure: 9.4 tons of cocaine hidden in a shipment of passion fruit in the port of Callao. This led to a total of 40 tons confiscated throughout the year, almost double the 21.6 tons during 2023.
The results come in part due to increased cooperation between Peruvian and European authorities – particularly Spain’s civil guard. This brought technical assistance and joint strategizing to detect drugs in Peru’s ports, preventing shipments from ever leaving the producer nation’s territory en route to consumers in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
Peru also eradicated around 26.5 thousand hectares of coca in 2024, up from 22.6 thousand the year before. Though these are historic figures for Peru, the massive quantity of cocaine flowing around the world in last year meant that the seizure of 9.4 tons did not even fit among the five largest around the world in 2024.
Listen to our podcast episode Daughter of Coca where we delve into the life of Ana, a social leader in Putumayo, Colombia, to explore one of the many faces of the cocaine trade.
Colombia
Colombian authorities seized 279.7 tons within its territory and international waters in 2024. While this represents an 11.2% decrease compared to the 335.4 tons seized in 2023, international cooperation led to an 18.4% increase in cocaine seized with other countries, from 746.3 to 883.8 tons.
This variation is one of the results of the Colombian anti-drug policy focused on interdiction efforts, driving the increase in cocaine seizures with other countries.
Bolivia
Bolivian authorities seized nearly 46 tons of cocaine in 2024, breaking the record set in 2023 with an increase of over 100%. In 2023, the country captured 21.3 tons of cocaine hydrochloride, which already suggested Bolivia’s role as both a cocaine producer and exporter was growing.
This trend persisted in 2024. Political chaos due to conflicts between current president Luis Arce and former president Evo Morales moved counternarcotics strategies off the government’s list of priorities.
SEE ALSO: The Doubts Behind Bolivia’s ‘Biggest Cocaine Seizure Ever’
Authorities reported Bolivia’s biggest cocaine seizure ever in 2024, with 21.6 tons. However, not all packages contained pure cocaine, which raised questions about the reliability of official sources.

Transit Zones
In 2024, massive increases in cocaine seizures for many transit countries that had seen decreases in 2023 not only indicated that increased production caused a shift in trafficking corridors, but also that joint operations have led to successful interdictions throughout the region.
Metric tons of cocaine seized per year in transit countries with some local production
Ecuador
Ecuador registered a record seizure of 22 tons of cocaine in January 2024, the biggest of the year in Latin America and the Caribbean and one of the largest cocaine seizures ever. Coming from Colombia or Peru, the seized drugs were transported by low-performance aircraft destined for Asia, Europe, and North and Central America.
In the same period, police arrested a major Colombian drug trafficker, which gave president Daniel Noboa a boost in the war on gangs he launched on January 9, 2024.
Across the entire year, Ecuadorian authorities seized 252 tons of cocaine, marking an increase of nearly 57 tons compared to 2023.
SEE ALSO: Ecuador Is Coca Producer Country, Says President Noboa
Noboa has also reported unprecedented amounts of coca cultivation in Ecuador, especially on the northeastern border with Colombia, highlighting the country’s role as an incipient producer.
Venezuela
Venezuelan authorities seized 35.1 tons of cocaine in 2024, according to our team’s monitoring, which indicates a decrease of nearly 20% compared to 2023.
Despite the drop, the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) and the ex-FARC Mafia seem to have expanded their cocaine production to the western Venezuelan state of Zulia, where the country’s armed forces seized nearly nine tons of cocaine from two makeshift processing laboratories.
Zulia is located on the border with Colombia and previously acted as a drug trafficking corridor. The state’s proximity to the Catatumbo region, a key cocaine production hub in Colombia, caused this activity to cross the border as security forces continued to target production in the country.
According to Danny Ferrer, chief of Venezuela’s National Anti-Drug Superintendence (Superintendencia Nacional Antidrogas – Sunad), over 80% of all drug seizures nationwide took place along the border with Colombia in 2024.
Honduras
While data on cocaine seizures in Honduras is inconsistent, the available figures suggest the country may be regaining significance as a transit point in the international cocaine trade.
On one hand, the Security Secretariat (Secretaría de Seguridad) reported seizing 26 tons in 2024. On the other, the Defense Secretariat (Secretaría de Defensa) registered 23.2 tons, while the National Police reported just 6 tons in response to a public information request. The Security and Defense Secretariat figures represent an increase compared to 2023.
Shifts in trafficking methods and international cooperation with the United States are some of the factors that explain this 300% variation, from 6.5 tons seized in 2023 to 26 tons in 2024. After four years of increased attention on aerial routes, traffickers are shifting their modus operandi to maritime routes. The US government also resumed sharing radar intelligence with Honduras in 2023, nine years after suspending cooperation in response to the Honduran air force shooting down multiple suspected drug planes.
Metric tons of cocaine seized per year in Central America and the Caribbean
Guatemala
Guatemala saw a 264% increase in cocaine seizures, from 5 tons in 2023 to 18.2 tons in 2024. This suggests that the cocaine route via Central America could have been busier after a year that saw generalized decreases in cocaine seizures in the region. Interdictions soared as soon as Bernardo Arévalo came to power in 2024, and have remained much higher than under his predecessor, Alejandro Giammattei.
El Salvador
Cocaine seizures increased 606% in 2024 compared to 2023, as authorities confiscated 22.6 tons last year. International cooperation between the Salvadoran Navy and the US authorities led to the seizure of at least 13 tons of the drug in international waters, suggesting that law enforcement efforts are one of the main reasons behind the increase.
The Pacific route has been active for consecutive years as it connects production countries with the US consumer market.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica seized 5.6 tons more of cocaine last year, increasing from 21.4 tons in 2023 to 27 in 2024. The government launched Operation Caribe in 2024, a strategy aimed at reducing crime in the province of Limón, a historically important drug trafficking hub on the Caribbean coast. This may explain why the Pacific coastal province of Puntarenas became a focal point for cocaine seizures in December 2024, as trafficking groups shifted operations to the area to avoid interdiction efforts in the Caribbean.
Panama
Panama registered a slight increase in cocaine seizures in 2024, with 99.3 tons seized last year compared to 95.7 tons in 2023. Like Costa Rica, most of these were concentrated in port cities, where local gangs dispute control over access to the port and local drug sales.
The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, making it attractive for drug traffickers. However, high surveillance leads criminals to explore alternative routes in the region.
Dominican Republic
Caribbean nations not only saw an increase in cocaine seizures in 2024, but also recorded historic national highs in some countries.
SEE ALSO: What Is Behind the Surge in Cocaine Seizures in the French Caribbean in 2024?
2024 was a record-breaking year for cocaine seizures in the Dominican Republic. Authorities confiscated 37.7 tons last year — more than double the 17.98 tons seized in 2023. The largest cocaine shipment in the country’s history, which totaled 9.8 tons was transported from Colombia en route to the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, was discovered in a container at the Port of Caucedo near the capital, Santo Domingo, where it was contaminated.
Caucedo is by far the single most significant point of cocaine confiscation in the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, shipments seized out at sea or on uninhabited beaches where cocaine is brought ashore are usually on their way to Caucedo, where they are temporarily stashed or moved on in another container ship.
Guyana
Guyana recorded 5.9 tons seized in 2024, compared to just 0.4 in 2023. Increased cocaine flows to Europe and international cooperation may explain this variation. Guyanese authorities collaborated with the armed forces in the Antilles (FAA) to seize a record 10.5-ton shipment off a maritime vessel near Martinique, one of the biggest in the region in 2024. The drug was allegedly destined for Europe.
Guyana has always been a transit point for cocaine coming from Venezuela. This trafficking route enters the country via the northeastern Venezuelan state of Delta Amacuro, before shipments are then dispatched to European markets.
Jamaica
Jamaica did not respond to our data request at the time of publication. While we do not have data for all of the seizures of 2024, it appears that drug trafficking dynamics in Jamaica are part of a global pattern seen in recent years, where bigger hauls are seized in production, transit, and destination countries.
“We’re seizing larger shipments of cocaine,” a police source told InSight Crime, suggesting that increased production of the drug has led traffickers to move bigger loads. A record seizure of 2.5 tons in the southern parish of St. Andrew supports this trend.
Metric tons of cocaine seized per year in South America
Paraguay
Paraguay did not respond to InSight Crime’s request for seizure data. Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Secretaría Nacional Antridrogas – SENAD), however, posted the five largest seizures of 2024 on X. These seizures alone weighed 5.4 tons – a significant increase over the 600 kilograms seized in 2023. In fact, one seizure alone, over 4 tons headed for Antwerp, Belgium, before authorities intercepted the shipment in July, was larger than the total amount seized in 2022 and 2023 combined.
The SENAD says that the increase in seizures in Paraguay helped reduce the amount of cocaine getting to Europe from there. Paraguay has historically been a key part of the trafficking pipeline to Europe.
Despite its improvements in fighting international cocaine trafficking, the SENAD was thrown into chaos when the government suddenly announced the SENAD and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would cease operating together in December. The two agencies had worked together extensively sharing intelligence and conducting joint anti-drug trafficking operations. The government later walked back the decision and accusations of corruption and protecting politicians involved in trafficking have surfaced.
Uruguay
With the port of Montevideo acting as an important transit point for trafficking cocaine to Europe, Uruguay’s role in the international cocaine trade is shifting. Despite this, it was one of the only countries that saw a decrease in seizures in 2024.
Uruguayan authorities seized 2 tons of powder cocaine in 2024, according to official data obtained by InSight Crime. This is down from 3.35 tons in 2023 and less than half of 2022’s 4.5 tons. This decrease is likely the result of a shift in priorities by the government: authorities closed down nearly 1,000 drug dealing sites and seized a record 2 tons of cocaine base.
Cocaine base use has been a concern for years in Uruguay. Local sales are primarily controlled by small crime families who fight to control territory in Montevideo’s poorest neighborhoods.
Uruguay’s role in international cocaine trafficking ticked up during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Montevideo port has since been a transit point for some of the largest shipments of cocaine seized in Europe.
However, during 2024 evidence emerged that Uruguay was no longer just a transit country, and is now warehousing significant quantities of cocaine. With the rip-on/rip-off method that had been common for the shipments passing through Uruguay, criminals operating at origin points would load the drugs, while others at the destination would unload the container, meaning organized crime did not need any members or allies in transit ports like Montevideo. But warehousing means that organized crime now needs to establish a presence in Uruguay to move their shipments.
Chile
Chilean authorities did not respond to InSight Crime’s request for data at the time of publication. The Attorney General’s Office published a press release stating the country seized a record 20 tons of drugs, but did not specify how much of that was cocaine.
Chile’s proximity to Peru and Bolivia, in addition to its many ports, make it prime trafficking territory for drug flows in both directions. In November 2024, authorities seized 43 tons of a precursor chemical called sodium bicarbonate that was thought to be headed to Bolivia for cocaine production.
Argentina
Argentina’s Gendarme seized nearly 11 tons of cocaine in 2024, up from 7.3 the previous year, as the government set its sights on the drug trafficking and murder hotspot of Rosario in Argentina’s Santa Fe province. As the government did not respond to our public information request, InSight Crime was unable to analyze the total seizures by all authorities.
The government stated that it seized 70% more cocaine during the first nine months of 2024 than over the same period in 2023, although it has not published more detailed or complete figures.
Cocaine trafficking through Rosario has been relevant for both international and local markets, though these two operations are mainly conducted by separate groups. In international trafficking, Rosario’s port on the Paraná River has been strategically important. Trafficking groups have historically loaded shipping containers in Paraguay before sending them down the river and through Rosario to Europe or Australia. Rosario also sits along a major highway where cocaine from Bolivia is moved by land to the port when it is then loaded for international shipment.
Locally, crime families are often paid in product to supervise these shipments. Rivalries between these groups have made Rosario the murder capital of Argentina, as targeted killings are used as a means to secure drug dealing turf.
SEE ALSO: How Rosario Became Argentina’s Drug Violence Capital
Though all crimes appear to have dropped significantly in Rosario, trafficking in northern Argentina across the border with Bolivia seems to be picking up again. These routes had previously been controlled by the Castedo Clan, which used properties on both sides of the border and exploited corrupt officials to traffic cocaine bought from producers in Bolivia. The clan has largely been dismantled since then, but it appears numerous smaller groups are springing up to revive these routes.
Brazil
Brazil’s Federal Police seized 74.5 tons of cocaine in 2024, with an increase of over two tons compared to 2023. This value does not include seizures by local authorities from each state, and only refers to powder cocaine.
The port of Santos and the Guarulhos airport continue to be major cocaine exit points for the international market, but routes in the northern Amazon rainforest are also major transit hubs to move cocaine from Peru and Colombia to the Brazilian market and international ports.
While gangs use Brazilian ports to move massive volumes of cocaine, some of the drug stays in Brazil for local consumption. Thus, besides being a transit country for international markets, Brazil is also the main cocaine consumer country in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially for powder cocaine.
Africa
Africa registered the third-largest cocaine seizure in the world in 2024, with 10.7 tons of the drug captured in the Guinea Gulf. Brazil was one of the transit countries for the shipment, which arrived in Guinea in a fishing vessel.
Besides having a strong consumer market, Africa also works as a transit continent for the cocaine that comes from Latin America and has Europe as its final destination, with traffickers sending substantial volumes of drug via West and North Africa.
While Nigeria is the primary cocaine hub in North Africa, South Africa is relevant for traffickers to move cocaine coming from Brazil, as many First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC) members operate in the region.

Consumer Markets
A record seizure in Spain, indicates the reemergence of this country as the principal entry point to the European market, replacing Belgium and the Netherlands, while US seizures decrease and new markets emerge in Asia.
Spain
Spain did not respond to our request for data by the time of publication. The country made several massive seizures of cocaine throughout the year, including a record 13-ton cocaine seizure in Spain in mid-October, suggesting it is again a major entry point for the European cocaine market.
The National Police and the Customs Surveillance Service seized the cocaine at the port of Algeciras in the southern Spanish province of Cadiz, in a container that had been sent from Ecuador.
Law enforcement pressure in Belgium and the Netherlands likely forced traffickers to seek new routes. Spain has repositioned itself strongly as the primary point of entry into Europe due to its past role as the epicenter of Latin American organized crime in the region.
SEE ALSO: Spain Reclaims Position as Cocaine Gateway to Europe
Belgium
In 2024, Belgian customs officers intercepted 44 tons of cocaine at the port of Antwerp, marking a significant drop from the 121 tons seized in 2023. But the market hasn’t become weaker. Two of the biggest cocaine seizures in 2024 were bound for Belgium, both the 9.5 tons confiscated in the Dominican Republic and the 9.4 tons interdicted in Peru. This could indicate that international cooperation is allowing law enforcement to seize shipments before they arrive at their destination.
Netherlands
Cocaine seizures made at the port of Rotterdam have dropped significantly, from 45.5 tons in 2023 to 25.9 tons in 2024. The decline continues a long-term trend of falling seizures from Europe’s largest ports and rising seizures in the continent’s smaller ports, suggesting drug traffickers may be increasingly switching cocaine routes to exploit security.
Last year, authorities also convicted Ridouan Taghi, who organized cocaine shipments from Colombia with criminal groups from the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, and the Balkans and was behind the murders of at least six people in the Netherlands.
Germany
German authorities did not publish the total amount of cocaine seized in the country in 2024 by the time of this article’s publication, but the country allegedly registered a massive increase in cocaine seizures last year.
The amount of cocaine seized in Germany has already been following an upward trend, as authorities seized 43 tons of the drug in 2023, 23 tons more than in 2022. Our monitoring also indicates that consumption in the country has been increasing.
Germany continues to be a relevant entry point for cocaine into Europe, being among the countries with the highest volumes of seizures.
France
French authorities seized 47 tons of cocaine in 2024, a value 23.5 tons greater than in 2023. As seizures increased, the northern coastal port of Le Havre has become an important entry point for drugs in France.
Portugal
Portugal registered a record in cocaine seizures in 2024, with 22.5 tons. Together with Spain, the country has been regaining influence as a major cocaine entry point to the European market.
Traffickers use fishing vessels as one of their main means of transportation into Portugal. The presence of Brazil’s PCC in the country, with money laundering operations and the surveillance of drug shipments, facilitates the entry of cocaine coming from Brazil.
In December 2024, Portuguese authorities conducted an operation that dismantled one of the largest cocaine labs in Europe.

Asia
With so much cocaine being produced, traffickers have sought out new markets. With the United States moving more to synthetic drug use and the European market already saturated, groups are expanding to Asia – in particular China, India, and South Korea, according to an analysis by Americas Quarterly.
With a massive population of its own and major trading partners around the world, China has huge potential as a cocaine market. Though consumption has historically been low, it is now on the rise, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Major players in the international cocaine trade appear to be looking to take advantage of rising use. Authorities traced shipments linked to Brazil’s PCC in 2024 that left the Santos port en route to China, Hong Kong, and the Korean peninsula.
Typically a minor market, South Korea saw massive increases in cocaine seizures in 2024. It seized 496% more cocaine in 2024 than 2023, though overall quantity remains low. This trend was seen in India as well, where seizures increased from 292 kilograms in 2023 to almost 1.5 tons in 2024.
SEE ALSO: A 3-Ton Cocaine Seizure in Venezuela Highlights Asia Trafficking Routes
Australia
Though a smaller market than the United States or Europe, Australia has been on the radar of cocaine traffickers for years due to the popularity of the drug and the high prices it fetches. But yet again, 2024 saw new cocaine records in Australia.
In December, Australia’s Federal Police (AFP) made their largest-ever cocaine seizure of 2.34 tons; police put the value of the seized drugs at $760 million.
The AFP believes an international criminal syndicate is ultimately behind the shipment, but did not name any specific group.
United States
Despite its massive consumer market and geographical proximity to cocaine-producing nations, the US cocaine market peaked in 2017, according to the UNODC. Seizures seem to confirm that cocaine has started going out of style in the United States: 2024 seizures were lower than 2023 or 2022, according to data from the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). The US drug market is now more focused on synthetic drugs, namely illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Sources and Methodology
As part of our daily monitoring, InSight Crime looks for reports of any cocaine seizures above 50 kilograms. We examine each report and try to find the route the cocaine took, methods used to traffic the drug, and where it originally came from.
Furthermore, we filed public information requests to every country in Latin America and the Caribbean asking for total seizures of cocaine in 2024 disaggregated by province and municipality (or the country’s equivalent) and type of cocaine (coca base, hydrochloride, etc.).
Drug seizure data has several limitations.Different countries have different ways of measuring and reporting their data, which may make it difficult to compare one country to another. Some countries do not distinguish between cocaine powder and cocaine base in their data, and the purity of any shipment is almost always unknown. Seizures, of course, only account for the drugs discovered by authorities. Thus, we do not know what new routes or techniques may be occurring that have so far evaded detection.
Our map relied on press releases from the countries that made the seizures and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics).
Whenever we use the unit tons, we are referring to metric tons (1,000 kilograms), not US tons (907.2 kilograms).
Argentina
Argentina did not respond to our request with official data. The gendarme did release a report with their total seizures, which we reported in this Round-Up. But as this only includes one authority, it is an undercount of the total seizures.
El Salvador
The government did not respond to our request for data. The El Salvador police published a press release stating 22.6 tons of cocaine were seized in 2024, but did not specify if this was powder cocaine, or a combination of cocaine base, and powder and crack cocaine.
Honduras
Honduran authorities released several different figures for the total amount of cocaine they seized in 2024. InSight Crime was unable to confirm which number is accurate.
Paraguay
Paraguay did not respond to our request for data. The government did post the five largest seizures of 2024. As the quantity was so much larger than that of previous years, this was enough we were able to conclude that there was an overall increase, but as this total does not include any other seizures, the total amount must be larger than the number we have.
Peru
The Peruvian government denied our request for data. A press release claimed they seized “more than 40 tons of powder cocaine” but did not give a precise amount.
Venezuela
We did not receive reliable official data from the government. We conduct our own monitoring of drug seizures in Venezuela and rely on this database for our numbers, however it is not an official source and could be missing some seizures.
#border #crime #latinamerica #news