PULLED OUT. Joint police operatives arrest two suspects in a marijuana plantation in Sitio Handalago in Barangay Nataban, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on Friday (June 24, 2022). The team uprooted 57 fully grown marijuana plants during the operation. (Photo courtesy of NegOcc-San Carlos Component City Police Station)
BACOLOD CITY – Police operatives uprooted 57 fully grown marijuana plants in a joint anti-illegal drug operation in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on Friday.
Two suspects, believed to have conspired in cultivating the plants, were arrested at a farm located in the remote Sitio Handalago in Barangay Nataban.
They were identified as Armando Quejado, 27, and Peter Loar, 30, both tagged as street-level individuals.
According to the San Carlos Component City Police Station, they conducted a surveillance operation after receiving reports on the existence of a marijuana plantation in the area.
The cannabis plants were found near Loar's house but both suspects denied cultivating them, it added.
The marijuana plants weighed about two kilograms with a standard drug price of PHP240,000.
The suspects, along with seized marijuana plants, are now in the custody of the city police.
Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 states it is illegal to use or possess cannabis in the Philippines as the law defines cannabis as a dangerous drug.
Cultivation of cannabis is also prohibited with corresponding penalties and fines provided for those found growing it. (PNA)
