Márcia Wonghon
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Recife - The Federal Police (PF) intends to intensify its efforts to combat the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana in the São Francisco backlands. The idea is to remove Pernambuco and Bahia from the list of states responsible for producing the largest quantities of marijuana in the country.

A PF survey shows that three tons of marijuana were seized in the Northeast between January and June of this year. Over the same period the PF destroyed more than 199 thousand marijuana plants, seized nearly 1.5 tons of the drug ready for consumption, and arrested 70 people.

The announcement was made during the 4th Encounter of the National Narcotics Repression System, in Recife. The event, attended by federal police commissioners in charge of fighting narcotics from all over Brazil, ends tomorrow (14), with the participation of the national anti-drug secretary, general Paulo Uchoa, who will present proposals for measures to prevent drug consumption in communities.

Translation: David Silberstein