Following a tip-off from informants and the BT story on organized marijuana cultivation by the Bae-Langdra farmers, the police have arrested 13 people over the weekend.
The people arrested include one woman, Phub Gyem, the daughter of the Kazhi gup, a 46-year-old man, and eleven youths.
A team of police officials in plain clothes went to Bae-Langdra on September 25 and managed to strike a hash-deal with Phub Gyem who owns a shop at Damchoethang.
Twenty minutes after the deal was made, the team raided Phub Gyem’s shop seizing a container with 95 grams of hash and other tobacco products.
Five men who were under the influence of alcohol and controlled substance were also arrested from the shop.
Singye Phub, 24, was carrying about a gram of hash and both his palms were green from the remains of the freshly rubbed marijuana resin.
When the team searched the house of 18-year-old Nim Penjor, who was also present in the shop, a self-made hooka used for smoking hash was found.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the five men supplied hash to Phub Gyem who was one of the main suppliers for customers from Thimphu and other dzongkhags.
The arrested people confessed that the hash was produced from marijuana plants cultivated among the potato fields. They said about 40% of the people in Bae-Langdra were involved in the production and sale of hash.
Among the five men arrested was Ratu (earlier mentioned as Karma Norbu in the BT story) who had introduced the Bae-Langdra villagers to hash business.
Based on the information the first group of arrested people gave the police, another five people - Tshering, 18, Tandin Wangchuk, 20, Gyem Phuntsho, 11, Pema Dorji, 18, and Wangdi Tshering 46 - were arrested.
All the eleven arrested were put under urine test. However, Phub Gyem, Kuenga Tshering, and Gyem Phuntsho tested negative. The rest eight tested positive for marijuana abuse.
Three more farmers were arrested on the evening of September 29. However, two brothers, Namgay Thinley, 29, and Namgay Tenzin, 36, have been released.
Another farmer, Dawa Gyeltshen, 30, arrested along with the two brothers, has been remanded as he is suspected of producing and selling hash.
Eleven-year-old Gyem Phuntsho who tested negative was handed over to his parents.
The police also carried out a verification of the Bae-Langdra fields. Although there was no trace of marijuana cultivation, plants being rubbed for extracting hash was evident.
However, two potato fields owned by Dorji Khando and Dorji were not harvested and had marijuana flourishing.
Ten of the 13 arrested are being detained for further interrogation.
Bae-Langdra is a highly revered Nye where Terton Dorji Lingpa discovered treasures hidden by Guru Padmasambhava.
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