Marijuana bricks worth P18.5 M confiscated

BAGUIO CITY – Police seized 772 dried marijuana bricks en route to Metro Manila reportedly for a “big summer sale” at a checkpoint in Bontoc, Mt. Province’s capital town, last weekend.

Senior Superintendent Pedro Ganir, Mt. Province police director, said the contraband, weighing 742 kilos and valued at P18.55 million, was being transported to Baguio City en route to Metro Manila when it was intercepted last Sunday night.

Acting on a tip, Bontoc policemen led by Senior Inspector Julio Lizardo set up a checkpoint in Sitio Lag­kangeo, Barangay Caluttit for the bust, Ganir said. 

Police said the dried marijuana bricks were found in a Hyundai Grace van owned by PCS Cargo Movers Network Inc. and driven by a certain Julius Alcido, who was accompanied by one Mario Dalacnas.

Ganir said the two told policemen that a certain Gina Banao, a resident of Barangay Botbot in Tingalayan, Kalinga, hired them to transport the marijuana to Baguio City, where a trader would then bring it to the metropolis.

The two are now facing charges for violating Republic Act 9165, or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, for transporting prohibited drugs, said Inspector Ruel Tagel, spokesman of the Mt. Province police.

Ganir said the marijuana bust should serve as a “strong warning” to those involved in the marijuana trade “to better find other means of livelihood or end up in jail.” 

According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Cordillera office, marijuana is harvested during this period until summer in the region, which remains to be the biggest producer of marijuana in the country, accounting for at least 85 percent of the supply.

PDEA claimed that the marijuana trade could be stopped in five years if the government would sustain livelihood assistance for marijuana growers and the eradication campaign.

“The drug menace should be dealt with seriously because it is a potent threat to the future, especially of the young,” Ganir said.