District police held a drive against illegal cannabis plantations on Monday and destroyed hundreds of cannabis plants grown across plots.

A team from Dinhata police station, along with some senior police officers of the district, reached Ruerkuthi village and launched the drive on Monday morning.

“We had information about illegal cannabis plantations and thus conducted the drive today (Monday). It is a continuous process. In the past two months, plantations spread over a total 3,859 bighas have been destroyed. Altogether, 37 persons have been arrested for being involved in illegal cultivation of cannabis,” said Dyutiman Bhattacharya, the SP of Cooch Behar.

Police sources said the narcotic is being cultivated in locations under Kotwali, Tufanganj, Pundibari, Dinhata and Sitai police stations.

“We are acting on information and conducting such drives at regular intervals,” said a police officer.

While some of them sell plants to narcotic smugglers, others process the narcotic and then smuggle it to other states.

A resident of Ruerkuthi explained the economics of farming. He said a farmer can by cultivating paddy on a one-bigha plot earn around Rs 12,000, but by growing cannabis on the same plot can rake in around Rs 50 lakh.

“The money makes some farmers grow this illegal crop,” he said.