Balamban police, tanods uproot more marijuana

The Balamban Police and barangay officials uprooted a total of 6115 marijuana plants in three sitios of barangay Bayong last Friday, the second foray the authorities had conducted so far in the barangay this week.

Bayong is a mountain barangay about 15 kilometers from the town proper, and authorities uprooted 2307 fully grown or harvest ready, 1077 seedlings and 2038 young marijuana plants in sitios Taro, Ambacan and Cabatbatan.

Last July 11, the policemen and tanods had also destroyed at least 7,000 marijuana plants in sitio Taro.

Balamban Police chief, C/Insp. Anthony Bagarinao led his four men-P03s Jodenes Aguanta, Fidel Aloba and Eugene Macapas, and PO1 Celso Maguidato-in the latest operation that also involved some barangay officials and tanods.

The plants were believed to be sold to "underground" markets in the cities around Central Visayas, authorities said.

In a telephone interview, PO3 Celso Diaz yesterday said the operation was a follow-up operation of the raid in Taro days earlier, and the town police said they scored another battle against the continuing cultivation of the illegal plants.

Barangay Bayong has been found ideal for planting marijuana due to the prevailing climate and its obscure location with cliffs and steep slopes that drew only few people to dare reach the place.

Diaz said the rather restrictive location made it difficult also for policemen to catch the cultivators because any raiding team could easily be seen from above.

The two suspected cultivators however has been identified, said Diaz, but their names have been withheld pending the filing of charges against them by tomorrow. - Edwin Ian Melecio