Police haul off P2.5m worth of marijuana in Agsur raid

By ERWIN MASCARIÑAS
Correspondent .

BUTUAN City – Police uprooted and seized some P2.5 million worth of  marijuana plants in Barangay Kasapa 2 in La Paz, Agusan del Sur, on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Insp. Joselito Fajardo delos Santos, La Paz station commander, said the plants weighed 20 kilograms and it was the Dangerous Drug Board that placed it P2.5 million.

Delos Santos said they spent several weeks monitoring and verifying the exact location of the plantation before the raid.

“Then we got the initial report months ago that the marijuana being sold in the town of Trento, Agusan del Sur came from Barangay Kasapa in La Paz. So, we immediately conducted our investigation to search and determine the exact location. The area is very vast and it has a mountainous terrain,” he said.

According to the regional police office, a team of about 30 police officers were involved in the raid. The officers came from the La Paz, Agusan del Sur Police Provincial Office, and the Agusan del Sur Provincial Mobile Force Company.

“We needed the additional security of personnel and firepower in the operation as the area is about 60 kilometers from the town proper. We had to climb some parts just to reach the plantation,” said delos Santos.

The town has been a hot spot for several marijuana raids in the past. Police records show that on June 2, 2016, around P15.6 million worth of marijuana was seized in the mountain slopes of Sitio Pilang, Kasapa 1 village, Loreto town.

Then June 20, 2016, in Km. 32, Barangay Valentina seized marijuana stalks weighing at about 36,500 grams with an estimated Dangerous Drug Board value of P4.56 million.