1.3 Tons of Meth Tied to Los Mayos Seized in Culiacán — and a Suitcase With 4 Grenades and 900 Rounds Found on a Mazatlán Bus
Mexican soldiers and National Guard troops seized 1,320 kilograms of methamphetamine, about 2,900 pounds, plus a vehicle in Carboneras, in the municipality of Culiacán, Sinaloa, on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. According to MVS Noticias, Mexico’s Defense Ministry said the load “would be related” to Los Mayos, the Zambada faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The same federal security report listed a second find: a suitcase with four grenades and 900 rounds of ammunition on a passenger bus in Mazatlán.
What the Army says it found in Carboneras
On Oct. 2, Excélsior and El Heraldo de México reported that the seizure came out of work by the Defense Ministry’s Central Military Intelligence unit. Army and National Guard troops carried it out with the Special Operations Group (GOES) of Sinaloa’s state Public Security Secretariat. Officials put the drug’s value at more than 350 million pesos. Excélsior said the seizure kept more than a ton of meth from reaching distribution networks and the streets.
The drug and the vehicle were handed to the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in Culiacán. None of the reports said anyone was arrested. The Los Mayos link comes from the authorities’ statement and has not been tested in court.
A suitcase on a Mazatlán bus
According to Meganoticias, the federal Security Cabinet’s report on Oct. 1 operations, released Oct. 2, said FGR and Security Secretariat (SSPC) agents found the suitcase while inspecting a passenger bus in Mazatlán. The suitcase held four grenades and 900 usable cartridges.
The reports disagree on whether anyone was arrested. Noroeste reported that a man on the bus was detained and handed to federal prosecutors. Meganoticias said the report mentioned no detainees. Neither outlet said where in Mazatlán the bus was stopped, which bus line it belonged to, or where it was going. Meganoticias added that officials gave neither the caliber of the ammunition nor the type of grenades.
What it means for Mazatlán visitors
The bus find came two days before gunmen shot two municipal police officers on the road to Mazatlán’s airport, an attack we reported Oct. 3. Sinaloa’s Public Security Secretariat said at the time that the airport was operating normally. Travelers can follow the port city on our Mazatlán safety page.
Sources
- MVS Noticias (Circe Vargón), “Aseguran 1.3 toneladas de metanfetamina vinculadas a Los Mayos en Culiacán,” Oct. 2, 2026
- Excélsior (Raúl Flores), “Metanfetamina: aseguran 1.3 toneladas en Culiacán,” Oct. 2, 2026
- El Heraldo de México (Matías Domínguez), “Golpe a ‘Los Mayos’: decomisan más de 1,300 kilos de metanfetamina en Culiacán,” Oct. 2, 2026
- Meganoticias, “Hallan cuatro granadas en una maleta dentro de autobús en Mazatlán,” Oct. 2, 2026
- Noroeste, “Detienen a hombre con cuatro granadas y 900 cartuchos en autobús de pasajeros en Mazatlán,” Oct. 2, 2026
- Photos: Mexican federal security agencies, via El Heraldo de México; SSPC, via Meganoticias
Reported Oct. 4, 2026, from the outlets above, which relayed statements by Mexico’s Defense Ministry and federal Security Cabinet. The Narco Blog did not independently verify the seizures. Authorities have not named any suspect, and accounts differ on whether anyone was arrested in the Mazatlán bus case.