Joint police operatives raided Thursday night what appeared to be an indoor marijuana plantation in a four-story building in San Juan City.
Members of the San Juan City Police Station Drug Enforcement Unit, Eastern Police District Intelligence Unit, in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, swooped down on an apartment unit located on the fourth floor of the building at No. 26 A. Rita Street, Barangay Batis, at around 7:10 p.m.
National Capital Region Police Office chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the “indoor-cultivated marijuana plantation” was discovered after tenants became suspicious of the amount of fertilizers and soil being brought in the apartment unit.
San Juan City Police chief Col. Jaime Santos said a Chinese national identified as Aaron Huang, is allegedly renting the entire fourth floor and the roof deck of the building from a certain Ming Uy, owner of the building.
“The room was fully air-conditioned with its water pipes connected to a heavy duty water purifier that could be used in a factory,” he said.
“Seemingly, there was also an equipment that was used to extract hemp oil,” he added
Santos said one of the tenants showed the police a plant box with a suspected marijuana plant. The electric bill of the unit reportedly reached up to P29,000 monthly.
The city police chief said the raiders discovered at least 105 suspected marijuana plants in the apartment unit and various equipment used for the nursery.
Also found were packs of suspected dried high-grade marijuana leaves with an estimated weight of 3.3 kilos, he said
The exact amount of the equipment and other evidences are yet to be determined.
Judge Danilo S. Cruz of Regional Trial Court Branch 152 in Pasig City issued the search warrant implemented by the operatives.
No one was in the unit when the raid was conducted, but Eleazar said that there were information that the tenant has been renting the unit for seven months.
Eleazar said charges for the violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act will be filed against the tenant and the building owner.
Meanwhile, Mayor Francis Zamora said the city government is “100 percent all-out” with its campaign against illegal drugs.
He also warned drug personalities planning to conduct their illegal drug trade within the city’s borders that authorities will have them arrested.
“I am really against illegal drugs and I will not allow this in the City of San Juan. That is why this will serve as a warning to all drug personalities planning to sell and circulate illegal drugs in San Juan that we will have them arrested,” he said.
Zamora also suspects that the drug personalities established their clandestine laboratory in Barangay Batis since the village is quiet and secluded.
“Barangay Batis is a quiet area. This is the only time that this happened here and maybe they chose this location becuase it’s somewhat secluded,” Zamora said. (Jhon Aldrin Casinas)
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