Over P32M in illegal drugs seized in Cordillera anti-drug ops

BAGUIO CITY — Law enforcers seized more than P32 million worth of illegal drugs and arrested two individuals during a series of anti-narcotics operations conducted across Kalinga, Benguet, and Baguio City on 21 and 22 January 2026.

The Police Regional Office (PRO) Cordillera said the two-day sweep resulted in the recovery of high-grade marijuana bricks, the destruction of several marijuana plantations, and the arrest of two street-level drug pushers.

In Kalinga, police recovered 11 sacks containing 217 kilograms of dried marijuana bricks valued at P26.04 million. The contraband was found abandoned in Barangay Upper Bangad, Tinglayan, after farmers alerted authorities about suspicious sacks left in the area. Personnel from the Tinglayan Municipal Police Station and the 2nd Kalinga Provincial Mobile Force Company responded and recovered the drugs. No arrests were made at the scene, and an investigation is ongoing to identify those responsible.

In Benguet, joint operatives from the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency raided 13 marijuana plantation sites in Kibungan and Kapangan. Authorities uprooted and burned 25,370 fully grown marijuana plants and 23,400 seedlings, with an estimated market value of P6.01 million.

Separate buy-bust operations led to the arrest of two street-level drug suspects. In Buguias, Benguet, a 60-year-old man was arrested with 0.84 grams of suspected shabu worth P5,712. In Baguio City, a 49-year-old woman was apprehended in Barangay Irisan with 2.5 grams of suspected shabu valued at P17,000.

The suspects are in police custody and will face charges for violating Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.