MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency believes it has scored big against drug operators in Benguet after anti-narcotics operatives destroyed millions worth of marijuana in a vast plantation in the provinces’ highlands recently.
PDEA chief Director General Jose Gutierrez Jr. said the operation on March 12 resulted in the destruction of P19.4 million worth of marijuana.
The crops were found at a site covering 22,742 hectares in Barangay Tacadang in Kibungan town, Gutierrez said.
Combined elements of the PDEA CAR, together with Regional Public Safety Battalion and the Kibungan police conducted the operation.
PDEA Regional Director Edgar Apalla said a total of 77,900 fully-grown marijuana plants were uprooted and destroyed.
Also destroyed were 3,720 seedlings and 30,000 grams of marijuana stalks.
Marijuana is a perennial plant that naturally thrives in high altitude areas in the country and is the second drug of choice.
The agency said it has stepped up its offensives against marijuana traffickers in the tri-boundary of Ilocos Sur, La Union and Benguet.
Although no cultivators were arrested in the March 12 operation, PDEA said that it will continue its efforts to seek and eradicate illegal hemp plantation sites.