P4 million worth of marijuana plants uprooted in Toledo City

Police uprooted marijuana plants worth P4 million in Sitio Himatogan, Barangay General Climaco in Toledo City on Saturday, June 1. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / Toledo City Police Office

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Over P4 million worth of marijuana plants were uprooted by authorities in Sitio Himatogan, Barangay General Climaco, Toledo City around 5 a.m. on Saturday, June 1, 2019.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, chief of Toledo City Police Station, said they uprooted over 10,000 fully grown marijuana plants during the operation.

Toledo City is located 55 kilometers from Cebu City via the Cebu Transcentral Highway.

Rafter, in an interview with CDN Digital, said they have been observing the movements of suspect, Elmer Cantutay Jr. for two weeks.

Catubay was caught in the act of tending to the marijuana plantation in Sitio Himatogan, which can be reached one to two hours by foot from the national highway.

Rafter said the police station received reports from the community about Cantutay’s illegal activities, which led to the suspect’s arrest.

The plantation can be reached after a 15-minute walk from Cantutay’s home.

This is the second marijuana uprooting that happened in the city of Toledo this year, 2019.

READ: Marijuana plants worth P3. 4 million uprooted in Toledo City

Operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas uprooted P3.4 million worth of marijuana plants in March 2019.

Aside from the marijuana plants, Rafter said they also confiscated a sprayer, which was believed to be used in tending to the plantation.

Rafter said Cantutay, who works as a foreman of a construction project, denied owning the marijuana despite being caught within the vicinity of the plantation.

Cantutay will be charge with violations of Section 16, Article 2 of Republic Act 9165, or violations on the cultivation of plants classified as dangerous drugs. / celr