POZORRUBIO – Five marijuana bricks weighing approximately five kilos – the biggest haul by local authorities on the outlawed stuff so far since January, this year — were seized by anti-drug police operatives last Thursday from a woman tagged as “marijuana queen.”
           
Supt. Harries Fama, Pangasinan police information officer and Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Group (PAIDSOTG) action officer, identified the suspect as Tessie Acquisio, 35, married and a resident of barangay Sapdaan in Santol, La Union.
           

She was supposed to deliver the marijuana bricks to an undercover policeman.

Senior Supt. Alan L. Purisima, provincial director, commended the PNP personnel for a job well done. At the same time, he asked the Pangasinan community to continuously support the PNP campaign against illegal drugs as “this is everybody’s concern.”
           
At about 10 a.m. last Thursday, policemen from the Pozorrubio Police Station led by Chief of Police Frankie C. Candelario and operatives from PAIDSOTG led by Chief Insp. Edwin C. Balles positioned themselves at Penoy Street in the poblacion, here.
           
When Acquisio showed up for the delivery, she was immediately arrested after she was positively identified as the contact.
           
Meantime, a day before Acquisio was arrested, the Pozorrubio police in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Pangasinan also caught a certain Noli Datario Estras, 37, married, and a resident of Legarda Street, Poblacion District 2.
           
Candelario said the operation was conducted at about 11 p.m. with barangay officials as witnesses. 
           
Seized from Estras was a bundle of compacted marijuana leaves weighing about 270 grams.
           
The confiscated items were submitted to the PNP Crime Laboratory in Urdaneta City for examination.
           
Candelario said they are always on alert to counter possible transit of marijuana leaves from nearby towns of Benguet to Pangasinan.

Pozorrubio’s proximity to Benguet and its strategic location at the crossroads going to Urdaneta City and eastern and central Pangasinan makes it a favorite transshipment point for illegal stuff.
           
“We are doubly on alert as classes are about to open.  We don’t want these illegal drug pushers getting in contact with the students, Candelario said.
           
The DDB said current street price of marijuana is about P25,000 a kilo.  
           
The Pangasinan Police Provincial Office had recorded 94 anti drugs operations since January this year.  This resulted in the arrest of 160 persons and the filing of appropriate charges against them.
           
Confiscated were a total of 21.77 grams of shabu and 5,743.5 grams of marijuana, five marijuana sticks and three marijuana plants. The DDB-estimated value of all these was P187,767.50, Fama reported.