Man arrested for growing hemp in Bagerhat backyard

Detectives have arrested a 45-year-old man for growing hemp in his backyard in the Bagerhat's Chitalmari Upazila.

At least 47 hemp plants were recovered and destroyed, confirms Inspector SM Ashraful Alam, a police spokesman.

Acting on a tip-off, Ashraful said, members of the district’s Detective Branch raided the home of Anu Majhi, a resident of the upazila’s North Lorarkul village under Santoshpur Union.

The tipster turned out to be the same man who had sold the plants to Anu six months ago, the inspector said.

A case under the Narcotics Control Act was filed against Anu, a first-time offender, over the incident.

The cultivation of all forms of cannabis has been illegal in Bangladesh since the late 1980s.

Though enforcement efforts against cannabis have historically been lax, law enforcing authorities have cracked down on marijuana since 2017.