Policemen and PDEA-7 agents destroy 21,000 stalks of fully grown marijuana in Balamban Town on Thursday, October 1, 2020. The authorities are pursuing the high value target or HVT who was identified as the cultivator of the plantation. | Photo Courtesy of PDEA-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Authorities are looking for a high value target (HVT) tagged as the cultivator of the P8.4 million worth of fully grown marijuana plants in the mountain barangays of Balamban town in western Cebu.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) said in a report that they were trying to find and arrest Jhonrick Coca, who was identified as the owner of the marijuana plantation in Balamban’s Sitio Udlom in the boundary of Barangays Cabasiangan and Barangay Sunog, after he managed to escape the raiding PDEA-7 agents.
Despite being at large, PDEA-7 said that Coca would be charged for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
A high-value target or HVT is identified as the cultivator of the P8.4 million marijuana plantation in Balamban town in western Cebu, which police and PDEA-7 agents raided on Thursday, October 1, 2020. | Photo courtesy of PDEA-7
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During Thursday’s (October 1) operation, PDEA-7 agents uprooted 21,000 stalks of fully grown marijuana plants in those mountain barangays.
PDEA-7, in its report, said that the uprooted stalks of marijuana plants had an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P8.4 million.
The raid on the hinterland barangays of Balamban town was a joint operation conducted by the PDEA-7 and policemen of the Cebu Police Provincial Office and the Cebu City Police Office./dbs