Cordillera police seize P2.3M drugs, arrest four

BAGUIO CITY — Anti-illegal drug operations in the Cordillera region netted more than P2.3 million worth of illegal drugs and led to the arrest of four suspects, police said Monday.

The operations, conducted on March 15 by the Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-CAR) and allied units, targeted marijuana plantations and street-level drug activity in the provinces of Kalinga and Benguet.

Authorities uprooted and destroyed an estimated 11,450 marijuana plants across multiple sites.

In Tinglayan, Kalinga, operatives discovered a plantation containing about 9,000 fully grown marijuana plants valued at P1.8 million.

Separate eradication operations in Benguet uncovered an additional 2,450 marijuana plants with an estimated value of P490,000 in the towns of Bakun and Kibungan.

All marijuana plants were burned on-site, police said, as investigations continue to identify those responsible for cultivating the illegal crops.

Meanwhile, a buy-bust operation in Tabuk City, Kalinga, resulted in the arrest of three men classified as street-level individuals. Authorities seized around 1.5 grams of suspected shabu worth P10,200.

In a separate incident, another suspect, 34, was apprehended after police responded to a report from village officials. Officers recovered 0.6 grams of suspected shabu valued at P4,080, along with drug paraphernalia.

The suspects and confiscated evidence are now under police custody as authorities prepare charges for violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Police said the operations highlight intensified efforts to dismantle drug networks and eradicate illegal cultivation in the Cordillera region.