Law enforcement personnel uproot P4.6 million worth marijuana in Asturias town in Cebu. | contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A total 11,600 stalks of fully grown marijuana plants worth P4.6 million were eradicated in Barangay Kaluangan in Asutrias town, Cebu, on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
The joint forces of the Provincial Intelligence Unit (PIU) of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), and the Naval Forces Central (NAVFORCEN) conducted the operation at around 8:30 a.m.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Randy Korret, head of the PIU, said that it took them about one month of information gathering after they were able to receive reports that illegal marijuana plants were being cultivated in an 800-square meter lot in the area.
According to Korret, the area was not an easy one to reach. It was a two-hour hike from the main road and was located in a sloped area.
The cultivator, identified as a certain Eduardo “Eddie” Kamaongay, was not in the area during the operation. Kamaongay is a notorious cultivator and planter of marijuana plants in the area, said Korret.
Read: Cultivators of marijuana plants in Toledo City elude arrest
Although they have not arrested Kamaongay, Korret said they will still be filing a case against him.
The authorities immediately uprooted the illegal plants and burned them in the area, leaving only three fully grown stalks as evidence that will be turned over to the crime laboratory for examination. /bmjo