An official revealed on Tuesday that law enforcement officers uprooted marijuana plants worth PHP4.2 million in an upland village of Tampakan town, South Cotabato province.

According to Kath Abad, the spokesperson for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Soccsksargen Region (PDEA-12), the uprooting of at least 21,000 fully grown marijuana plants on Monday was the result of a strengthened anti-narcotics campaign and coordination between government law enforcement agencies.

The marijuana plants were hidden among corn fields by their cultivator, Yatan Piang, who is now at large.

Abad vowed to pursue Piang's case for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.