HARARE – A huge cannabis stash paraded by police during a raid on business premises in Msasa, Harare, on March 9 is owned by a company licenced to grow it, according to documents seen by ZimLive.
Police found 3,900 kilogrammes of a variant of cannabis known as industrial hemp after storming a warehouse of Ameyang Investments on Citroen Road.
Three people were arrested in the raid and they face charges of “unlawful possession” of the drug, national police spokesman Commissioner Paul Nyathi said.
But ZimLive has seen documents suggesting the company was a legal grower of industrial hemp, a variant of the cannabis sativa plant which contains fiber, seeds, and oil used to make many different industrial and consumer products including textiles, building materials, paper, fabrics, soap, food, dietary supplements, and cosmetics.
Ameyang Investments, registered as a company in 2019, received approvals to grow industrial hemp in 2021.
The company imported seeds from Chigaco in the United States in May 2021 with written permission from the ministry of agriculture, according to the papers.
The Agricultural Marketing Authority also issued the company annual registration certificates until at least 2023, when the company did not renew.
The latest permit obtained in 2022 and valid until March 2023 stated that the company was “registered as an industrial hemp cultivator.”
What police seized during their raid, according to a company official speaking on condition they were not named, is their “harvest” from the 2023 crop.
The official explained: “There was a first approach made by some police officers, who demanded bribes. We felt we had done nothing wrong and everything was above board and we refused to pay.
“Then there was the second visit now with police bosses and cameras. We’re confident that a court will assess the full facts of the matter and find no wrongdoing.”
