A PHILIPPINE National Police-Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) anti-narcotics operations in a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) territory in Maguing, Lanao del Sur, on Wednesday resulted in the destruction of an estimated P23 million worth of fully-grown marijuana (MJ) plants and the seizure of a cache of high-powered weapons including two powerful sniper rifles, PNP-DEG Director Brigadier General Randy Q. Peralta said yesterday.

In a report to PNP Officer-in-Charge (PNP-OIC) Lt. Gen. Vicente D. Danao Jr., the official said that the cannabis plants and heavy weapons were found in Bgy. Bato-Bato in Maguing municipality by members of the DEG Special Operations Unit Bangsamoro Autonomous Region supported by troops from the DEG SOU 10 and the Army’s 5th Infantry Battalion (IB).

“We have stumbled upon a big marijuana plantation site in Maguing, Lanao del Sur, which is supposed to be under the control of the MNLF. Fortunately, no untoward incident occurred during the operation as our troops and some MNLF representatives agreed to talk peacefully,” the PNP-DEG director said.

Peralta said the weapons were abandoned by unidentified men near the marijuana site. “The heavily-armed men fled the scene without their weapons after seeing the advancing troops around 7:00 a.m.,” the official said.

According to the PNP-DEG director, confiscated during the operation were one M417 caliber .50 Barret sniper rifle equipped with a long-range scope; a cal. .50 homemade sniper rifle without serial numbers; a Baby AK-47 automatic rifle; an M-16 Elisco automatic rifle with defaced serial numbers; and an M-203 rifle.

Apart from the powerful guns, also recovered by the PNP-DEG at the site were four rounds of 40mm ammunition; six rifle grenade ammunition; 90 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition; a cal. 50 ammunition; three AK-47 magazines, a short M-16 magazine; and a Barrett magazine.

Peralta said that while his men were uprooting the marijuana plants with the help of the Army soldiers, an MNLF commander who identified himself as “Ustadz Salim Abubakar” of the MNLF Camp Blue Mountain in Butig, Lanao del Sur went to the area with his men and demanded custody of the recovered firearms, ammunition and high explosives.

The MNLF official claimed that the weapons and ammunition were issued to him by the MNLF high command and are being used by his followers.

However, the PNP-DEG men told the MNLF members they cannot release the weapons without any order from the court and the PNP leadership.

The negotiations ended with the MNLF members agreeing to a word by the PNP-DEG that the weapons will be temporarily placed under the custody of the DEG SOU BAR before they are submitted to a ballistics examination and technical investigation by the PNP Forensic Group before they are officially placed under safekeeping by the police.

Peralta said that uprooted and burned on site were an estimated 60,000 pieces of fully-grown cannabis plants valued at P12 million.

He added that the same security troops also conducted a marijuana eradication drive in Sitio Dibarosan in Bgy. Dilimbayan in Maguing municipality from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday led to the destruction of an estimated P11 million worth of fully-grown cannabis plants found growing in three separate locations in the area.

Peralta said that an estimated 55,000 marijuana plants were uprooted in those areas, which were all burned on site.

The official said that no arrests were made during the operations, although they will be filing appropriate criminal charges against Salim et al. after recovering the cache of weapons and explosives.