BENGUET--Local police officials in Kapangan, Benguet seized bags full of marijuana bricks worth more than a million pesos.

At around 10 p.m. on July 20, Kapangan police intercepted two men onboard a motorcycle in a checkpoint along Sitio Lomon in Barangay Paykek.

The police found out that the motorcycle is not registered and the driver didn't have a license.

Kapangan Chief of Police PSI Anderson Mauricio said this prompted them to question the two.

Inside two backpacks carried by the suspects were five bricks of dried marijuana weighing 9.10 kilograms. This had an estimated street value of P1,171,300.

One of the suspects was identified as Romy Perz Balangen, 20. The other one was a minor.

They are both from Tacadang, Kibungan, a neighboring town.

According to Balangen, they were supposed to sell the marijuana bricks in La Trinidad, but refused to comment on whether the marijuana came from their own farm.

Kapangan was once the location of major marijuana plantations in Benguet but was declared marijuana free in 2012.

Meanwhile, 43 men connected to illegal drugs submitted themselves to the local police.

Twenty-three of the men were shabu sellers and users while the other 20 were marijuana cultivators.

“Baka natatakot sa mga napapanuod nila sa TV, sa mga nababalitaan nila,” Mauricio said.

As of July 21, about 1,329 marijuana cultivators, pushers and users have surrendered in Benguet.