CAMP DANGWA, Benguet  – Anti-narcotics agents and the Cordillera police uprooted and eventually destroyed close to P380 million worth of marijuana in various operations in the region last year.

The regional office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency reported that the destroyed contraband were discovered in 15 operations conducted in at least 10 barangays in the region.

The amount of destroyed marijuana greatly helped in the reduction campaign both of the PDEA, Philippine National Police, and other law enforcement agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation.

The biggest haul last year was on Feb. 7 when authorities arrested a suspected marijuana cultivator in a remote barangay in Kibungan, Benguet, and seized from him P313 million worth of marijuana.

The PDEA, meanwhile, reported that close to P13M worth of marijuana were uprooted and burned on-site during a four-day operation in Kayapa, Bakun from Jan. 19 to 22.

The marijuana plants were spotted in 12 cultivation sites with an aggregate land area of 7,600 square meters.

Joining PDEA agents in destroying the marijuana were personnel of the Bakun Municipal Police Station and the Benguet Provincial Public Safety Company.

No cultivator was arrested during the operation.

After the burning, authorities held consultations and dialogues with community leaders and residents to inform them on the ill effects of marijuana use, the legal implications of marijuana production and trading, participation of the community in the enforcement of the anti-illegal drugs law, and other related issues.

The bulk of marijuana supply in the entire country is clandestinely shipped from the hinterlands of Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province, according to PDEA and the PNP.