SAN FERNANDO CITY – At least 2,500 fully-grown marijuana plants were burned by the police on Monday at the Police Regional Office in this, La Union city as part of their all-out war against illegal drugs.

Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil, who led the burning of the stuff, explained these were parts of the P98 million wroth of fully-grown marijuana plants uprooted by the police at the tri-boundaries of the provinces of Ilocos Sur, La Union and Benguet last week.

Bataoil said on Monday that the plantations were located in the vicinity of Sugpon, Ilocos Sur, sitio Tubaday, Sudipen, La Union; and Kibungan, Benguet, all believed to be tended by the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

The burning of the plants was witnessed by ranking police officers in Region 1, 2 and 3 and the Cordilleras, local officials and members of the local media that gathered at Camp Oscar Florendo here for a coordinating conference.

“The rest of the marijuana plants were burned on the site in the presence of barangay and town officials as our policemen were not able to carry all of these” he said.

Civilian ‘assets’ or informers tipped the police off about the marijuana plantation which grew on a total area of one hectare.

He said the elements of the regional mobile group, regional anti-illegal drugs special operations task force and other support groups participated in the operations that began Wednesday up to Friday or a three-day and two-night operation.

The said those who participated in the operations jumped off from the mountains of Santol town in La Union till they reached their objectives.

Bataoil disclosed that the marijuana plantations were believed to be a production base of the communists insurgents as they were being occasionally visited by the NPA men operating in the Ilocos Cordillera Region.