P29M marijuana uprooted in Kalinga

BAGUIO CITY — Fully grown marijuana, estimated to be worth P29 million, were destroyed in the Kalinga towns of Butbut and Tinglayan from Aug. 7 to 8, the Cordillera police said on Thursday (Aug. 9).

The police and agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency raided 17 marijuana plantation sites at Barangay (village) Bugnay in Butbut, and in Ngibat village in Tinglayan.

The operation is the third to be conducted in the province in the last four weeks and brings the total marijuana haul to P69 million.

No arrests were made during these operations.

On July 27 and 28, P28 million worth of marijuana were uprooted in Butbut and Buscalan towns while P27,779,000 were burned in the towns of Loccong and Butbut on July 19.

Authorities said the plantation sites were located on steep portions of the mountains there, which were difficult to access.

Four suspects were arrested for possessing P650,000 worth of marijuana on July 23 at Bontoc town in Mountain Province.

The suspects hail from Caloocan City and Laguna province and purchased their weed from Kalinga./lb