By Sylvester Kumwenda

Dowa, October 16, Mana: Police in Dowa on Tuesday arrested a 25-year-old man at Lirambwe village for allegedly cultivating Indian hemp popularly known as Chamba without a license.

Dowa police Public Relations Officer, Alice Sitima has identified the suspect as Timothy Banda of Lirambwe Village, Traditional Authority (TA) Nkukula in the district.

Sitima said police received a tip-off from concerned citizens that Banda was cultivating Indian hemp but did not have a license for that.

"Through the Criminal Investigation Department, police conducted investigations which led to the arrest of the suspect.

"Banda admitted to having cultivated Indian hemp on his quarter-acre farm, located approximately five kilometres from his village, along the Chaliwe Dambo River.

"During the time of arrest, he was on the verge of harvesting around 4000 plants which have since been destroyed by the police," said Sitima.

She said the suspect will soon appear in court to face a charge related to illegal cultivation of Indian hemp.