A 4.5 Hectare Field With 95,000 Cannabis In Aceh Besar Destroyed By BNN

Aceh Province National Narcotics Agency personnel pull out marijuana plants in the Mount Seulawah area, Aceh Besar/ANTARA

ACEH - The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) of Aceh Province destroyed 95,000 marijuana stalks planted in a 4.5 hectare field on the slopes of Mount Seulawah, Aceh Besar District.

The destruction of marijuana fields was led by the Head of the Aceh Province BNN, Brigadier General Heru Pranoto, in the Lampanah area, Seulimeum District, Aceh Besar District, Monday, August 22.

To get to the field, the Aceh Province BNN team together with the TNI and Polri used a car with a badly damaged road. The distance to the inside by car is about 1 hour.

Next, the joint team walked through the bush for 15 minutes. The marijuana fields are located at two separate points with a height of more than 1.5 meters of cannabis plants.

Extermination by uprooting and then burning the forbidden plant. No marijuana growers were found.

Head of BNN Aceh Province Brigadier General Heru Pranoto said that the destruction of marijuana fields around the foot of Mount Seulawah for the umpteenth time.

"This extermination has been carried out for the umpteenth time, both by the Aceh Province BNN, the RI BNN, the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit, as well as by the Aceh Regional Police and their ranks," said Heru Pranoto as quoted by Antara.

According to the one-star police general, the extermination is to break the chain of marijuana distribution and abuse, both in Aceh and outside the province of Indonesia's western tip.

He said that the existence of the marijuana field was based on public information. Next, it was followed up with an investigation by the Aceh Province BNN team.

"We certainly cannot work alone to eradicate and destroy marijuana fields. Of course we need the support of all elements of society, including synergizing with local governments and other law enforcement officers," said Brigadier General Pol. Heru Pranoto.

Furthermore, the destroyed cannabis fields will be used as land for alternative planting programs to replace cannabis plants with other productive plants.

"We continue to socialize this alternative crop program so that cannabis growers no longer plant these prohibited plants, then replace them with other economically valuable plants," said Heru Pranoto.

Accompanied by the Head of the Aceh Province BNN Eradication Division, Kombes Mirwazi, Brigadier General Heru Pranoto said that the circulation and abuse of narcotics, especially marijuana in Aceh, is quite dangerous for the younger generation.

"Based on a survey in 2019, the circulation and abuse of narcotics in Aceh is ranked sixth in Indonesia with a prevalence of 2.80 percent. This is certainly worrying," he said.