Up to 70 percent of the population of a village in Takeo province are said to have been involved in growing 20,000 marijuana plants that were burned by police, according to officials.
“We have destroyed 20,000 marijuana plants…. The owners have fled,” said deputy provincial police chief So Phy.
Police conducted the raids in Kiri Vong district’s Preah Bat Chonchum commune, along the Vietnamese border, on Tuesday and Wednesday, he said.
Between 60 to 70 percent of the villagers were involved in growing the cannabis, Mr. Phy said, speculating the drugs may have been exported to Vietnam.
“How are we going to arrest them all?”
he asked.
“Almost everyone in the village grows it.”
Provincial police chief Ouk Samnang said the growers might have been unaware they were breaking the law.
“We will educate them that it is a drug that affects society,” he said.
“If they continue to grow it, we will proceed with legal procedures.”
