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(NYASATIMES) ACB officer arrested for cultivating Indian Hemp

COMMENT - Free the Malawi Gold.

ACB officer arrested for cultivating Indian Hemp
By Catherine Chimzimu, Nyasa Times
January 12, 2012

Police in Mzuzu made a lunch hour arrest of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) Investigations Officer for allegedly cultivating Indian Hemp at his Katoto yard.

Mzuzu Police Spokesperson Edward Longwe confirmed the arrest of Kondwani Zulu, 35, of Kachilenga Village, Traditional Authority Mzukuzuku in Mzimba district who is currently in Police custody pending investigations.

Longwe said Zulu was arrested after Police discovered eight plants in a garden at his yard.

Zulu: Arrested

“Police had gone to crime scene in Katoto Township. Unfortunately the crime scene turned to be a place next to Zulu’s house. Afterdoing their job. Our CID officers decided to take a short cut that passes through his yard.

“That is when they discovered eight well tendered plants. They appeared pruned suggesting that harvesting did take place,” the Police spokeman said.

Longwe said the CID then called Zulu, who was at the office, to come home.
“They arrested him at home and took him to Police,” he said.

He has been charged with an offence of cultivating Indian hemp which is contrary to regulation 4 of the Dangerous Drugs Regulations.

Malawi Police Service faces a lot of challenges which expose the country to continued drug production and trafficking.

Legalise?

In 2000, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Joe Manduwa surprised MPs in the august House when championed Indian hemp's legalisation.

Manduwa argued that Malawi stood to gain a great deal from cultivating the plant, which he said was a much-sought-after commodity on the world market and could be a valuable alternative to tobacco.

A recent World Bank study says Malawi's cannabis has a street value of $8.5 million (K1.4 billion) about 0.2 percent of the country's GDP.

Since Malawi farmers receive only about a fifth of the price for which its being sold on foreign consumer markets, the positive effect of the production of cannabis on the overall Malawi economy is negligible, says the Bank in a study done in last year.

Labels: CANNABIS, MZUZU

posted by MrK @ 9:45 AM