An explosion at an illegal cocaine factory in southwestern Colombia, near the border with Ecuador, has killed nine people and injured ten others, Colombian police said on Friday.

The incident occurred “in the early hours of January 23,” according to police chief John Hero Urea Rosso. Preliminary investigations indicate that the explosion was caused by a gas canister during the preparation of the drug.

The illegal laboratory was located in an indigenous community in the Nariño department, an area known for its large-scale cocaine cultivation and significant guerrilla presence. The victims worked for a dissident faction of the former FARC, which was not included in the 2016 peace agreement.

Local authorities are continuing investigations to determine the full causes of the explosion and to identify all those involved.

#Colombia | A strong explosion occurred in a clandestine laboratory before the processing of cocaine left at least seven people dead and ten wounded in the Inda Zabaleta indigenous reserve, in the rural area of ​​Tumaco, Nariño.

Los heridos, con quemaduras de gravedad, fueron… pic.twitter.com/7BB4IVal6u

— EL MERIDIANO (@elmeridiano_co) January 23, 2026