Government forces have swooped down on marijuana plantations in Tinglayan, Kalinga last week resulting in the burning of more than P60 million worth of the illegal plants.
The latest anti-illegal drugs operation occurred in Loccong, Tinglayan where authorities uprooted close to 300,000 pieces of fully grown marijuana plants with a Dangerous Drug Board value of more than P45M.
Composite teams from the Police Regional Office-Cordillera and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera uprooted marijuana plants in more than 15-hectare plantation sites on June 24.
PRO-Cor Director, B/Gen. R’win Pagkalinawan, reported that government forces have been in Kalinga for weeks eradicating marijuana plantation sites in line with the all-out war on illegal drugs in the region.
On June 22, the Kalinga Provincial Mobile Force Company, which was conducting an internal security operation in Buscalan discovered two marijuana planting sites, prompting them to coordinate with the provincial headquarters and PDEA for the eradication, which yielded P2.6M estimated worth of the illegal plants.
The group uprooted 13,000 fully grown marijuana plants in two sites. The uprooted grass was burned on site. No cultivator was arrested.
In a separate operation on June 23, joint government operatives discovered P13.7M worth of marijuana in six planting sites in the same barangay.
Government forces scoured around 5,500 square meters planting sites, uprooting 68,650 fully grown marijuana plants in those areas.
On June 15 and 16, government operatives also uprooted 14,000 fully grown marijuana plants worth P2.8M in Tulgao West, Tinglayan.
The uprooted marijuana plants were burned on site. No suspect was also arrested. – Ofelia C. Empian