Antofagasta: Prosecutor's Office and PDI Seize 1,300 Kilos of Drugs in Just 24 Hours

The PDI reported removing 1,329,810 individual doses worth more than 2.6 billion Chilean pesos from circulation, with additional coordinated raids in Calama, Tocopilla, Antofagasta and Taltal.

The Citizen

09/10/2025 8:17pm

In a coordinated effort, the Antofagasta Regional Prosecutor's Office and Chile's Investigative Police (PDI) carried out two major anti-drug operations that resulted in the seizure of 1,300 kilos of various narcotics, along with firearms and ammunition.

In a statement, the Public Prosecutor's Office reported that the actions were executed by specialized teams from the Anti-Narcotics and Organized Crime Brigade and the Antofagasta Homicide Brigade, with support from units of the Antofagasta Provincial Prefecture and the Air Police Section.

The first operation, conducted on October 7 and 8 by the Antofagasta Anti-Narcotics Brigade in coordination with the Taltal Local Prosecutor's Office, led to the seizure of 600 kilos 850 grams of cannabis sativa and ketamine, as well as the arrest of a Bolivian national linked to a transnational network that smuggled drugs toward central Chile using secondary routes.

Subsequently, in a second high-impact action led on the ground by Regional Prosecutor Juan Castro Bekios, the Antofagasta Homicide Brigade executed Operation ‘Último Dominio’ at the ‘Génesis’ encampment in Antofagasta, where a criminal organization made up of Ecuadorian citizens had set up a drug storage site, according to the official report.

There, officers seized 726 kilos of cannabis sativa, base cocaine, firearms, ammunition, cash, and equipment used to portion narcotics. One suspect, an Ecuadorian national, was arrested in flagrante by PDI personnel after unsuccessfully attempting to repel the police action.

"These operations are the result of strategic planning and joint work between the Prosecutor's Office and the PDI. With these seizures, we are demonstrating that criminal analysis, police intelligence, and constant coordination at every level make it possible to dismantle complex criminal organizations operating in our region," said Regional Prosecutor Juan Castro Bekios following the operation.

For his part, Prefect Inspector Freddy Castro, head of the Antofagasta Police Region, detailed that "1,329,810 individual doses of drugs were removed from circulation, with a valuation exceeding 2.6 billion pesos, in addition to firearms, ammunition, and the arrest of members of criminal structures linked to transnational drug trafficking."

"This week, the PDI has also managed to neutralize several points of illicit drug sales in the communes of Calama, Tocopilla, Antofagasta and Taltal," the police official reported.