Marines, PDEA destroy P8M marijuana plants

Combined military and anti-illegal drug operatives have raided and destroyed a marijuana farm and uprooted some P8-million worth of plants in the town of Maimbung, Sulu province on Friday afternoon, Philippine Navy spokesman Colonel Omar Tonsay said.

Tonsay related that forces from the Philippine Marine Battalion Landing Team 2 (MBLT 2) and the 3rd Marine Brigade (3MBDE) and operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and local police raided a half-hectare marijuana plantation in Barangay Gulangan, Maimbung town on Friday afternoon.

No one was apprehended by the joint PDEA and military operatives during the raid.

The uprooted marijuana plants were brought to the 3MBDE headquarters for safekeeping.

Brigadier General Remigio Valdez, 3MBDE commander, said the raid and successful operations was due to the well-coordinated surveillance and monitoring by the Marines and the PDEA.

Valdez vowed to pursue their campaign and operations against terrorism in his jurisdiction and to work with other agencies for the security and development of Sulu.

The PDEA are determining the identity of the owner of the said marijuana plantation.

Relatedly, a notorious shabu dealer in Sta. Mesa, Manila fell into the hands of authorities after concerned citizens reported his illegal drug activities to the PDEA.

The suspect, identified as Marvic Bansil, alias Niknok, was widely known in his neighborhood as a shabu dealer. 

Bansil reportedly sold shabu in their barangay and in adjacent communities, particularly to his primary clients who occupy a certain condominium building whom he charges a minimum of P2,000 per transaction. Residents are afraid of him because he bragged that he owned a gun, PDEA director general Jose Gutierrez said.

Based on information from a group of concerned citizens, operatives of the PDEA National Capital Region (PDEA-NCR) under Director Pedrito Magsino, conducted a validation operation against Bansil. 

Upon confirmation of Bansil’s illegal drug activities, an undercover PDEA agent transacted with the suspect in his house. Bansil was collared after he handed over a plastic sachet containing shabu to the poseur-buyer on May 29, 2012. 

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Gina Peralta-Elorde | The Daily Tribune | June 3, 2012 | Article Link