P8.7M worth of cannabis leaves seized from abandoned vehicle in La Union; P2M in CAR

BAGUIO CITY — Authorities from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Region 1 and La Union police seized 73 kilograms of dried cannabis leaves worth P8.76 million from an abandoned vehicle in Barangay Sasaba, Santol, La Union. The operation took place on Monday morning, January 13.

PDEA Region 1 Regional Director Joel Plaza identified the suspects as Felmen Day-os Aliles Jr., alias Dondon, and Amado Paycao, alias Amado Gante Jr., both residents of Barangay Sasaba, Santol. The two managed to evade arrest during a checkpoint last Friday, fleeing when they noticed the authorities.

PDEA operatives kept the abandoned vehicle under surveillance for several days before securing a search warrant to open it on Monday.

Authorities found at least 73 rolls of marijuana leaves, each wrapped in transparent plastic bags and packaging tape, weighing a total of 73 kgs inside the Mitsubishi Delica van.

The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) has set the standard price for dried marijuana leaves at P120,000 per kg.

PDEA Region 1 Director Plaza confirmed that the suspects would be charged under Republic Act 9165 (The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).

On Monday evening, authorities seized 14 heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing shabu, worth P95,200, from 52-year-old Hilario Constantino during a sting operation in Rosario town, La Union.

Near P2 million worth of cannabis torched in Cordillera Administrative Region

On Monday, Cordillera law enforcement uprooted fully grown marijuana plants valued at P1,908,000 from eight plantation sites in Benguet and Kalinga provinces.

In Benguet, authorities discovered seven marijuana sites across Barangays Pudong and Gadang in Kapangan, and Barangay Tacadang in Kibungan. The sites contained 5,040 plants, with an estimated value of P1,008,000 according to the Standard Drug Price (SDP).

Meanwhile, in Kalinga, Tinglayan police, in coordination with PDEA-Kalinga, raided a marijuana plantation in Barangay Buscalan, where they discovered 4,500 marijuana plants valued at P900,000 based on the SDP.

No arrests were reported following the operation.