Reporting on criminal incidents, investigations, and law enforcement responses across Panama. Stories focus on facts, community impact, and safety developments.
Panama’s National Police confiscated 4,182 suspected counterfeit brand items valued at around $200,000 during raids on four commercial establishments in Panama and Panama Oeste provinces under Operation Jaque Matte.
Two former National Security Council agents were sentenced to six years in prison for embezzlement over the disappearance of a $13.4 million telephone interception system. A separate verdict on illegal wiretaps targeting 150 people is still pending.
Panama’s Public Ministry is tracing funds allegedly received by former CSS director Enrique Lau Cortés from a Dominican Republic company between 2020 and 2023. The investigation seeks to establish the origin and justification of the money.
Former BAC Panama finance VP Arnold Salgado Galeano has been arrested for alleged links to Operation Pandora, the criminal network that misappropriated at least $40 million in tax credits through the DGI’s e-Tax 2.0 platform.
Ecuador’s defense minister says repeat ‘shipwrecked’ sailors rescued near Panama are often drug couriers who ditch their boats after deliveries. Panama’s maritime rescue services may be inadvertently funding trafficking logistics.
A tribunal has revoked Luis Gaitán’s $800,000 bail and ordered his provisional detention, citing flight risk and the gravity of the acts under investigation. The decision came at the request of prosecutors.
Cybercrime experts are warning Panamanians about silent phone calls used by scammers to record voices and harvest personal data for voice-cloning fraud. Authorities urge the public to hang up immediately and avoid sharing information with unknown callers.
Panama’s National Police seized more than 2,200 packages of illicit substances in a twelve-hour operation, dismantling stash houses and finding drugs hidden in agricultural cargo at port zones. The seizure marks one of the country’s largest recent blows to narco-trafficking.
A 22-year-old woman died after being attacked with a machete by her partner on Isla Valle Escondido in Bocas del Toro, highlighting the ongoing crisis of intimate partner violence in Panama’s remote island communities.
A man was found dead inside a vehicle in La Pitahaya, La Chorrera, after an alleged kidnapping that began in Montelimar. Two suspects are in custody as authorities investigate.
Panamanian authorities seized 5,529 packages of suspected illicit drugs and arrested two Colombian nationals aboard a vessel in Pacific waters south of Punta Burica, Chiriquí. The operation, led by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office with Senan support, underscores Panama’s ongoing role as a major transit route for cocaine headed to the U.S. and Europe.
Panamanian prosecutors presented 46 documented events from a four-year investigation to support charges against 13 people arrested in Operation Poseidon, alleging drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime. The alleged leader allegedly ran the network from a ranch in Santiago, Veraguas.
Panama’s Operación Justicia Activa has led to the arrest of two suspects allegedly tied to robberies against two companies in Barú, Chiriquí. The operation underscores ongoing efforts to protect businesses in the border province.
A Colón court sentenced two former Miguel de la Borda communal board officials to eight years in prison for embezzling $29,505 during 2009-2014, amid a broader probe into more than $247 million in diverted funds.
A stolen motor from a water pumping station has left hundreds of families in Atalaya, Veraguas, without potable water, with investigators saying the thieves appeared to know how the equipment worked.
Fraud complaints in Panama rose 14% in early 2026 as cybercriminals exploit stolen phones to drain bank accounts. The Superintendencia de Bancos outlines three critical steps victims must take within minutes of a theft.
Panama’s Ministry of Social Development is asking the public for help finding a white Toyota Coaster bus, plate GO9704, stolen from its regional office in Penonomé. The vehicle was used to transport girls from state care homes in Coclé.
Panama’s organized crime prosecutors have charged 22 defendants, including a newly arrested suspect, in a $40 million tax credit fraud scheme that manipulated the DGI’s e-Tax 2.0 system. Judge Clara Montenegro ordered provisional detention for the latest defendant, Gabriel Martínez.
Nine people have been sentenced for gang activity in San Miguelito under Operation ‘Custodia,’ after prosecutors linked the structure to thefts, forced evictions, and arson against residents of Santa Marta’s Sector 42 and Las Colinas.
A Panamanian man wanted for six years was arrested in Costa Rica and handed over to Panamanian authorities, who allege links to the Tren de Aragua criminal organization. The capture shows growing cross-border cooperation.
