KEY POINTS:
Who says a policeman's job is hard?
In Timaru, they have only to walk a few steps outside the police station to uncover an undefended drug-growing operation - albeit one on a tiny scale.
For weeks, a cannabis plant had slowly been growing undetected right outside the courthouse, which is right next to the police station. The 25cm-high plant was discovered by a Timaru policeman as he walked up to a group of people gathered at the courthouse this week.
"It's one of the first outdoor plants we have come across this year, and it's right outside," said Senior Sergeant Mark Offen.
It was a lighter moment for police onthe job, and has prompted some specu-lation about who might be responsible.
"At the end of the day, there's probably a number of connotations we could put on it," Mr Offen said. "There's nothing to suggest it was purposely put there."
One theory is that someone dropped a "joint" after smoking it and seeds then took hold in the fertile courthouse grounds.
The rogue plant has been destroyed and now remains another unsolved mystery.
