Police in Dowa District have arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of illegally cultivating cannabis, just before he could harvest 4,000 plants of the prohibited crop.

Dowa Police spokesperson, Alice Sitima, confirmed the arrest and she has identified the suspect as Timothy Banda who hails from Lirambwe Village in the same district.

According to Sitima, police were tipped off about Timothy’s activities and he later admitted to growing the cannabis along the banks of the Chaliwe Dambo River.

The suspect is currently in police custody and he will soon appear in court to answer charges levelled against him.