3,000 marijuana plants uprooted in Dalaguete

CEBU, Philippines - Following a tip from a concerned citizen, elements from the Dalaguete Police Station uprooted over 3,000 marijuana plants yesterday dawn.

The police conducted the raid in a mountainous area a few hours walk from Barangay Mantalongon, Dalaguete town.

According to PO1 Arnel Kalisang, they arrived at Mantalongon at 2 a.m. and were escorted by their informant to the marijuana plantation which is located at the boundary of Sitio Lugsangan, Tabon, Dalaguete and Patong, Badian.

The team led by their chief, Sr. Insp. Dexter Balansag Basirgo, arrived at the plantation at around 6 a.m. They received the tip from a concerned citizen and verified the information on Tuesday.

“Ang among informant ra pud ang nag verify ug nag-guide namo didto sa lugar (Our informant also served as our guide),” he told The FREEMAN.   The police looked for the caretaker of the plantation, known only as “Danny” but they failed to find him.

According to Kalisang, most caretakers would not dare visit their marijuana plantation in the mornings because of the possibility of raids conducted by the police.

“Kasagaran gyud ana nila di-gyud mo bisita og buntag kay kahibaw man sila nga ang raid mabuntag,” he said.

They also recovered some one-fourth kilo of dried marijuana leaves in a shanty in the middle of the farm.

The police immediately burned 2,000 marijuana plants on the farm and brought only 1,000 back to their station. “Di man gyud na mahimo sir, nga among madala tanan kay maglisod mi tungod sa kadaghan (It would be difficult to carry all of it),” he said. — (FREEMAN)