Marijuana worth P4.2M seized

Balamban police uproot thousands of marijuana stalks in 2 barangays; no arrests reported

POLICE uprooted P4.2 million worth of marijuana in the mountain villages of Magsaysay and Bayong in Balamban last Saturday.

PO1 Andie Mabanta, in a phone interview, said no cultivators were caught. (Bayong and Magsaysay are about 19.7 and 25.2 kilometers from Poblacion, respectively.)

The team from Balam- ban Police Station, led by Chief Insp. Florendo Fajardo, uprooted 23,900 stalks of marijuana in Sitio Sunog. Its value according to the Dangerous Drugs Board is P2,987,500.

Also yesterday, the police continued their operation in Bayong and uprooted 9,700 fully-grown marijuana worth P1,212,500.

Bayong Barangay Capatin Agustino Soon informed the police about the presence of the plantations. The police were assisted by personnel from Spe- cial Weapons and Tactics of Cebu Provincial Police Office, Asturias Police Station and 47th Brigade of Philippine Army.

The uprooting lasted the whole day last Saturday. The team jumped off from Balamban Police Station at 4 a.m. and came back at 6 p.m.

In yesterday’s operation the team jumped off at 5 a.m. and returned to the police station at 3 p.m.

Mabanta said most of the stalks were burned in the village, but some were brought back to the station for evidence.

Officials from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7, quoted in earlier reports, said marijuana thrives in the mountainous areas of Balamban, Badian and Danao City because of the cold weather.

The marijuana plants in Balamban are of higher quality because the place has several water sources, and are usually bigger than those grown in other places.

Last September, the PDEA uprooted P5.5 million worth of 26,958 fully grown marijuana stalks and more than 1,000 seedlings.