Government forces in Kalinga province have seized and burned PHP44.536 million worth of marijuana in a week.
Kalinga Police Provincial Director, Col. Davy Vicente Limmong, on Thursday said the confiscated and later burned marijuana came from three operations from July 14 to 20.
He said law enforcers conducted two simultaneous eradication operations on July 20 in two villages in Tinglayan, Kalinga.
He said one team composed of personnel from the police provincial office, Regional and Provincial Mobile Force, the regional intelligence unit, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), discovered three plantation sites in Barangay Loccong which led to the destruction of PHP21.5 million worth of marijuana.
Another group of operatives also discovered six plantation sites in Barangay Butbut Proper which led to the destruction of PHP15.2 million worth of marijuana.
Limmong said the government anti-illegal drug enforcers also destroyed 76,000 fully grown marijuana plants they found on 6,700 square meters plantation site.
The suspects eluded arrest in both operations.
He said that on July 14, Kalinga police also discovered three sacks of dried marijuana leaves and stalks on the roadside of the national highway at Sitio Anonang, Liwan West in Rizal, Kalinga.
“Our operatives received information that a vehicle is transporting marijuana from Tabuk City to Tuguegarao, Cagayan which led to the setting up of checkpoints. Another information was received by the police about abandoned sacks on the side of the road,” Limmong said.
“We suspect that the person transporting it left the items after discovering that the police do an enhanced checking of vehicles passing on the checkpoints,” he added.
Confiscated were 53 marijuana bricks and 24 tubular forms weighing 65.3 kilograms worth PHP7.836 million.
“Patuloy po ang ginagawa natin na mga operation para siguraduhin na hindi madadala sa syudad ang mga marijuana na alam natin na itinatanim dito sa atin sa Kalinga (we continue to conduct operations to assure that the marijuana plants grown here will not be transported and brought to the cities),” Limmong said.
He also warned people involved in the illegal sale or transport of marijuana to stop their illegal activities. “You will be caught if not here in Kalinga, in other places even before you reach the destination where you are bringing the illegal drugs,” the police officer said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
