UPROOTED. Over PHP1 million worth of marijuana plants were uprooted by joint operatives of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Caraga Region in an area in Barangay Kasapa 1, in Loreto town, Agusan del Sur on Tuesday (Nov. 26, 2019). The police early this year also discovered a marijuana plantation in the adjoining Barangay Kasapa 2. (Photo courtesy of PRO-13 Information Office)
BUTUAN CITY -- More than 500 hills (planted in a group rather than a row) of marijuana plants weighing around 19 kilograms with an estimated value of PHP1,045,000 were uprooted by authorities on Tuesday, the chief of the Police Regional Office in Caraga Region (PRO-13) said.
The marijuana plants were uprooted in Barangay Kasapa 1, in Loreto town, Agusan del Sur, PRO-13 director Brig. Gen. Joselito T. Esquivel Jr. said in a statement on Wednesday.
Esquivel said taking part in the operation were operatives from PRO-13 together with PNP forces from Loreto Municipal Police Station, Agusan del Sur Police Provincial Office, Agusan del Sur Provincial Mobile Force Company and 1303rd Regional Mobile Force Company with the support of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Caraga Region.
Most of the uprooted marijuana plants were destroyed by authorities by burning them in the area while samples were also brought to Agusan del Sur crime laboratory for screening and confirmatory testing.
Esquivel added that police operatives also uprooted marijuana plants worth PHP3.3 million last January 7, 2019, near the area, particularly in Sitio Kalampayan, Barangay Kasapa 2, La Paz, Agusan del Sur.
“Our police are conducting an investigation to identify and effect the arrest of the owner of the said marijuana plantation,” Esquivel said.
He also appealed to the members of the community in the area to support the police in its crime prevention and crime solution efforts. (PNA)
