Police burn P26.5-M ‘grass’

Prohibited Government authorities prepare to burn confiscated marijuana bricks in this file photo taken in 2015. Aldwin Quitasol

The government’s campaign against illegal drugs continued to gather steam as the Police Regional Office Cordillera on Thursday destroyed some P26.5 million worth of marijuana plants following simultaneous operations in Kalinga, Apayao.

The prohibited plants were recovered in 11 marijuana plantation sites with a total land area of 10,180 square meters in Barangays Buscalan and Tinglayan, Kalinga during a one-day operation last week.

The simultaneous raids were conducted by joint personnel from the local police, Kalinga drug enforcement unit and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency under Oplan Balitok.

Chief Supt. Rolando Nana, Cordillera police director said “Oplan Balitok” (Gold) was created to clear all drug affected barangays in Kalinga, particularly Barangay Buscalan in the municipality of Tinglayan.

Nana said they are hot on the trail of cultivators of marijuana and it is only a matter of time before they eventually identify them.

“We will exhaust all efforts and widen our sources to identify the people behind these illegal operations,” he said.