Some marijuana plants were burned in the area following the arrest and seizure of 2,000 stalks of fully-grown marijuana in Sitio Hikapon, Barangay Gen Climaco, Toledo City on Thursday afternoon, October 6, 2022. | Photo courtesy of 2nd PMFC
CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least 2,000 stalks of fully-grown marijuana plants worth P800,000 were uprooted in a hinterland sitio of Hikapon in Barangay General Climaco in Toledo City on Thursday afternoon, October 6, 2022.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Epream Paguyod, force commander of the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) of the Cebu Police Provincial Office, identified the arrested farmer and suspected marijuana cultivator as Christopher Cañaliso, 38, while his cohort, a certain Felix Labaso remains at large after he escaped arrest.
Paguyod said that, supposedly, his team would serve the warrant of arrest against Richard and Caloy Cañaliso for an illegal drug offense, particularly in the cultivation of marijuana plants in the area.
Richard and Caloy are Christopher’s siblings.
However, authorities were not able to find the two there, instead they caught the arrested person, Christopher, in the act of cultivating marijuana plants.
“Caught in the act po na nandoon si Christopher Cañaliso sa area at nagcu-cultivate sa marijuana plantation”, Paguyod said.
(Christopher Cañaliso was caught in the act there in the area and he was cultivating the marijuana plantation.)
Paguyod said that several reports had reached them that these siblings were engaged in marijuana plant cultivation.
These brothers would allegedly sell the dried ones to their respective clients, but Paguyod begged off from disclosing further information about this, pending their ongoing follow-up operation.
“Sa part sa unit namin as we observe yun naman po talaga yung pattern. Kadalasan na ginawa nilang magtanim talaga sa malalayong lugar yung unreachable ba ng mga sasakyan to deter yung mahuli sila… as you observe mga previous na marijuana eradication natin is talagang lalakarin mo, talagang malayo sa kalsada, kumabaga yan yung mga modus nila to evade arrest,” Paguyod said.
(On the part of the our unit as we observed that is what their pattern really is. Most of the time they will plant really in a far off place that is unreachable by any means of transport to deter those who would want to catch them…as you observed in our previous marijuana eradication is that we would really walk a far distance from the road, that is their modus to evade arrest.)
Police Brigadier General Roque Eduardo Vega, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), lauded this successful operation of the 2nd PMFC adding that police would strictly arrest whoever would be involved in this illegal drug business.
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