Police have destroyed more than 40,000 marijuana plants since Tuesday in a village in Takeo province in which Cambodian police officials have said a majority of the residents are involved in the cultivation of the illegal crop.
“Today we have burned 22,418 marijuana plants in 72 different locations,” So Phy, deputy provincial police chief, said on Friday. “We’ve found some of them on the mountain.”
The marijuana being grown in Kiri Vong district’s Preah Bat Chonchum commune may be headed for export to Vietnam, Mr. Phy said. He previously noted that up to 70 percent of the village’s population was involved in growing marijuana.
Since the beginning of this year, about 25,000 cannabis plants have been destroyed in the district, he said on Thursday. No monetary value was placed on the crop.
Provincial police chief Ouk Samnang said on Thursday that some of the residents use the leaf for cooking and didn’t realize the trade in marijuana is illegal. “We will educate them that they are drugs, which has impacts on society,” he said. “After educating them, if they continue do that, we will proceed with legal procedures.”
