Military police destroyed more than 500 marijuana plants with an estimated value of $30,000 in Kampot province on Friday, an official said.

Sem Soeum, deputy provincial military police commander, said yesterday that his officers, going off of a tip from bamboo collectors, found the plants after a gruelling search in the forests of Chros O’Krouch mountain in Teuk Chhou district.

“After three hours of searching, we found two farms with 523 marijuana plants in the dense forest, and we decided to burn those plants,” he said, adding that the growers had not yet been identified.

“We did not find the way [to the plants] until we prayed to the mountain spirit. It was such a difficult mission.”