Dubai: Dubai Police have arrested a man for growing dozens of marijuana plants inside his villa, it was announced on Monday.

The 48-year-old Emirati was arrested and the police recovered 38 plants from his villa.

Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said the Anti-Narcotics Department at Dubai Police received a tipoff that the suspect, K.A.A., was in possession of large amounts of marijuana and that he grows them at his home in an emirate.

The tipoff also indicated that K.A.A. consumed and sold marijuana.

Al Muzainah:In an operation dubbed Mashtal ADaya Nursery of Loss #Dubai_Police raided a marijuana grow in house. pic.twitter.com/GkKHi4Xlze— Dubai Policeشرطة دبي (@DubaiPoliceHQ) March 14, 2016

K.A.A., who has two masters degrees from a foreign university and had a respectable job in the UAE, told the police that he was growing marijuana plants for personal use.

After tracking his movements across the country, the Anti-Narcotics department caught him in Dubai, he said.

“There was a small amount of marijuana in his car. The suspect then led us to his two-storey villa, which was in another emirate,” Maj Gen Al Mazeina said. Police found marijuana in the car’s ashtray, in a small bag in the front seat, in a paper bag on the back seat and some in a box in the car’s trunk.

After following procedures, he said, Dubai Police inspected the villa where they found an elaborate set-up, including ventilation, temperature and humidity controls and lighting to provide suitable conditions for growing the plants.

The majority of the plants were found on the ground floor of the villa. Some plants had reached up to 1.5 metres in height. The suspect had partitioned a room on the ground floor into three rooms to grow the plants.

Police also found marijuana drying equipment, as well as plants that had been harvested.

“The UAE is not a drug production country, and this is a rare case. We had a similar case last year, where a European man was growing a small amount of cannabis using cotton, but nothing on this scale,” he said.

Dubai Police are questioning K.A.A,’s friends and acquaintances to catch anyone involved in using or selling the drug.

“During questioning, K.A.A. said that he got the seeds from abroad and planted them on his own at home,” Maj Al Mazeina said.

He added that growing plants that are used for drugs is a dangerous phenomenon, because it is more difficult for the police to find out about it as it does not pass through Customs or the borders, where many smuggling operations are usually foiled.

Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said people could report any drug-related suspicions or activities to the Anti-Narcotics department on the toll-free number 800400400.