MANILA, Philippines — At least 50,800 marijuana plants, worth P10.28 million, were uprooted and destroyed in Kalinga and Benguet provinces, law enforcement authorities said yesterday.
In Benguet, the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) discovered around 38,000 marijuana plants in Barangay Buscalan, Tinglayan town on Friday.
PDEG director Brig. Gen. Eleazar Matta said the cultivators of the marijuana plants were not present during the raid.
“This eradication operation delivers a significant blow to illegal marijuana cultivation, sending a strong message that drug crimes will not be tolerated,” Matta said in a statement.
Police also sprayed the 3,800-square-meter plantation with herbicide, a chemical to kill unwanted plants, to prevent the property from being used to cultivate marijuana.
In Bakun in Benguet, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency also uprooted and destroyed 12,800 marijuana plants and 3,050 seedlings valued at P2.68 million.