Chile's uniformed police seized 60 tons of drugs in 2025, a 62% increase from 2024, and detained over 25,000 people linked to these crimes. Key achievements include dismantling 215 criminal organizations and the largest methamphetamine seizure of the year in the O’Higgins region.
In 2025, Carabineros conducted 20,246 operations against drug trafficking, a 19% increase from 2024, leading to the arrest of 25,553 people for drug-related offenses. The official balance shows 60,863 kilograms (60 tons) of high-consumption drugs seized, such as cocaine, base paste, and marijuana, marking a 62.2% rise from the previous year.
Marijuana topped the seizures with 53,000 kilograms, up 72.8%, which General Jaime Velasco, director of Drug Control and Criminal Investigation, attributed to rising local consumption and proximity to producer countries. "We have seen an increase in marijuana consumption at the local level. Where there is great demand for something, there will always be great supply," Velasco explained.
A milestone was the 'Operación Cristales del Pacífico' on January 10, 2025, in Lolol, O’Higgins region, where a clandestine methamphetamine lab was dismantled and 844.12 kilograms of the synthetic drug were seized—the largest amount recorded in the country. The substance originated from Manzanillo port in Mexico, controlled by the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel, and was destined for Oceania. Two Mexican citizens were arrested.
Additionally, 215 criminal organizations were dismantled, a 17% increase from 2024. Velasco highlighted the impact on organized crime: "Not only the same drugs, but the damage done to organized crime in terms of properties, money, and weapons." In total, 921 vehicles, 437 firearms, and 30 properties were seized, a 650% surge from the prior year, valued at $13,305,444,359, up 30.3%.
Synthetic drugs also rose, with 846 kilograms of methamphetamine, 193 kilograms of ketamine, and 1,253 kilograms of 2CB. Velasco described drug trafficking as a "global criminal phenomenon" requiring integrated strategies of prosecution, health, and prevention.
