Court reports were ordered on a man who admitted growing eight cannabis plants at his home in Devonshire.

Kiwadme Roberts, 40, pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court to a single count of cultivating cannabis in an increased penalty zone.

The court heard that on the evening of August 12, 2019, officers searched a Boundary Crescent, Devonshire home and detained two people in connection to an unrelated matter.

During the search, officers found eight potted cannabis plants in a fenced off area of the property’s garden.

Roberts was not at the home when the search was carried out, but police found his passport and a computer tablet which had multiple pictures of the defendant and the cannabis plants.

The defendant was arrested, and in an interview admitted that the plants found in the garden were his.

The court heard the garden where the plants were found was less than 200m from Elliot Primary School, which meant they were inside an increased penalty zone.

Roberts apologised for the offence and told the court: “It is a part of my culture and I do use the herb.”

Magistrate Tyrone Chin ordered a drugs assessment and a social inquiry report on the defendant, and ordered Roberts to return to the court on May 3 to be sentenced.