Duo arrested for marijuana possession, cultivation

By MALINDA KALE
POLICE arrested two men for drug possession and uprooted 50 marijuana plants in Kairiku-Hiri’s Wanapa village, Central, on Tuesday.
Provincial police commander Johannes Yapi said the highway patrol unit was patrolling the Hiritano Highway, near Ku River, when they arrested the suspects with the marijuana.
Following interrogation, the duo led police to the place where they cultivated marijuana plants.
Both suspects were then charged with drug possession and for illegally cultivating marijuana under the Dangerous Drug Act.
The police made two trips, using trucks, to transport the marijuana plants to the Central station last Tuesday and Wednesday.
Yapi said all 50 marijuana plants had being handed over to the police drug squad for evidence and for the plants to be destroyed after prosecution.
He said people were cultivating marijuana in their village gardens deep in rural areas. He urged villagers not to grow marijuana as it was against the law and drug abuse was the cause of many social problems.