AUKI Police on Tuesday raided and seized thousands of dollars worth of marijuana at Fiu village on the outskirts of Malaita provincial capital Auki.
A total of 29 marijuana trees were uprooted by police from a farm believed to be by youths of the village.
No arrests were made as those believed to have owned the farm managed to evade the police raid in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Malaita Provincial Police Commander Alfred Uiga said that nurturing and farming of marijuana is illegal and that those found guilty would be prosecuted.
“Marijuana is a dangerous and illegal drug which must not be farmed, nor nurtured in our communities.
“It destroys lives and also causes psychiatric problems to many young people nowadays,” Mr Uiga said.
He added that farming and selling marijuana is not an income earning practice that people should indulge in.
“There are many other lawful and better ways of earning an income; selling marijuana and other drugs is not one of them as it can cause you a lot of problems and even death,” Mr Uiga added.
Whilst applauding his officers for the successful raid, Mr Uiga also thanked villagers and other informants for assisting police.
“We thank villagers from Fiu who have assisted police with information that led to this successful raid,” he said.
Mr Uiga meanwhile, called on all residents in Auki to continue assisting police to clear the communities of illicit drug and maintain law and order.
By WILLIAM EKOTANI
in Auki
