CORDILLERA Police Regional Office director Brigadier General David K. Peredo Jr., on Wednesday, announced the arrest of seven men caught in the act of transporting over P4.5 million worth of dried marijuana (MJ) bricks in Kalinga province.

In a report to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr., the official said seven arrested suspects aged between 21 and 33 years old.

All are now facing non-bailable charges for illegal delivery and transportation of prohibited drugs under Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which carries the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million upon conviction by the court.

According to Peredo, members of the Kalinga Police Provincial Office (PPO), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Kalinga and the Cordillera Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) intercepted the seven following a tip from a concerned citizen about the presence of a group of marijuana “traffickers” out to transport a huge volume of cannabis from Tinglayan municipality to Tabuk City.

Recovered from the group were 38 dried marijuana bricks weighing at least 38 kilograms and a paper bag containing more than 300 grams of cannabis stalks, leaves and fruiting tops.

The inventory of the recovered pieces of drug evidence was undertaken in the presence of the arrested suspects, local barangay, and a Department of Justice (DOJ) representative.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon