THE Cordillera police announced the arrest of two suspected drug pushers for allegedly yielding P625,000 worth of marijuana in Sadanga, Mountain Province.
The interception of the drug items recently resulted after Bontoc policemen received information that the contraband will be transported through their town that particular day.
Police Regional Director Eugene Martin identified those arrested as Rosa and Uchangay Macabio, both residents of Betwagan, Sadanga, Mountain Province.
He said Bontoc policemen, in coordination with Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents, flagged down a passenger bus driven by Edmun Fiyang Appling in Tigil, Betwagan, Sadanga in the province.
"This was loaded with 26 bricks of dried marijuana leaves having a total weight of 25 kilograms. This had a total Dangerous Drugs Board market value of P625,000," Martin said.
After the police team intercepted the bus during the checkpoint operation conducted in that place, two women alighted from the vehicle, upon sensing the presence of the policemen. They immediately ran towards the Chico River and left their cargos behind.
Although they were followed by the operating team, the two women were able to evade arrest. They were arrested later in a follow-up operation.
"Dangerous drugs breed crime and violence. We are responsible to the society which we live in and we are accountable to them. It is our job to see to it that our cause will serve as the antibiotic in the spread of this disease called drug addiction," he pointed out.
He said the continuous eradication operations in marijuana plantations here in the Cordillera are being conducted to discourage cultivators from planting marijuana plants. "We aim to completely destroy these plantations," he continued.
He said that it has been observed that marijuana plants are being planted further and further away towards boundaries because of the continuous efforts of government troops.
"The transport of dangerous drugs is closely monitored by both the Pdea and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure that its transport will be intercepted immediately and to make sure these dangerous drugs will never reach their destination," Martin added. (ENO)
