ZAMBOANGA CITY – Marine soldiers and agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) discovered Friday dawn a plantation with some 22,000 fully grown marijuana in Kalingalang Caluang, Sulu.
Marine Battalion Landing Team 7 (MBLT-7) commander Lt. Col. Oliver Baylon, said, the marijuana plantation has a total land area of 2,100 square meters with fully grown marijuana worth around P 5.1 million.
According to Baylon, combined elements of MBLT-7 of the 4th Marine Brigade and PDEA agents conducted an operation for possible arrest a certain Sahabi in Sitio Mangal-Mangal, Barangay Masjid Punjungan, Kalingalang Caluang, Sulu.
Sahabi, a notorious drug dealer in Sulu is a supporter of the Abu Sayyaf Group, Baylon said.
Baylon said that while scouring the area, the government troops discovered six plantation sites of fully grown and two plantation sites of newly planted marijuana.
The soldiers, in coordination with barangay officials of Masjid Punjungan, uprooted and burned the marijuana plants on Saturday.
“The marijuana plantation could be another source of fund of the ASG and their supporters,” Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, Joint Task Force Sulu commander said.
PDEA personnel also collected samples of marijuana for laboratory testing and as evidence against the suspects. (Nonoy E. Lacson)