PDEA seizes 200 kilos of dried marijuana leaves

MANILA, Nov. 27 (PNA) –- The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDAEA) said late Thursday its agents have seized more or less 200 kilograms of dried marijuana leaves in brick form in Quezon City.

The agents were part of the PDEA Area Task Group Alpha and Area Task Group Bravo who started to deploy at a bus terminal along E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Cubao in the early morning of November 25, 2009.

PDEA Director Dionisio Santiago said that the controlled delivery operation was coordinated by PDEA Area Task Group Alpha Commander Director III Roberto S. Opeña to Area Task Group Bravo Commander Director III Carlos F. Gadapan.

PDEA Agents were placed on stand by at the E. Rodriguez Bus Terminal in Quezon City to intercept the consignee of the illegal drugs. At around 3:00 AM of November 25, 2009, a Ballesteros Bus with body number 8668 arrived from Cagayan Province.

After awhile, an individual was seen unloading sacks and cigarette boxes onto a taxi.

The suspect was immediately arrested by the narcotics operatives and later identified as Macario Guiang Jr. alias Jun.

Upon inspection, the sacks and boxes were found to contain marijuana dried leaves compressed into bricks in the middle portion and concealed using bananas on the sides and top portion of the containers.

Other personalities such as the bus driver, conductor and helper were likewise invited for questioning at the PDEA Metro Manila Regional Office to shed light on the incident and to determine their involvement. The seized pieces of evidence were submitted to the PDEA Laboratory Service for analysis.