What a dope! ‘Drug dealer’ accidentally showed police incriminating video of huge cannabis farm while trying to explain himself to officers using Google Translate
- Northumbria Police stopped Mercedes and detected a strong smell of cannabis
- Occupant who was not English opened translation app to try and explain himself
- Instead video appeared on screen showing ‘significant’ cannabis farm operation
A suspected drug dealer who tried to use Google Translate when he was stopped by police mistakenly showed officers a video of a large cannabis farm, officers have said.
Police stopped a grey Mercedes in Rainton Bridge, near Sunderland, on Wednesday and officers became suspicious when they detected a strong smell of cannabis.
Northumbria Police said one of the two occupants of the car, whose first language was not English, then opened his phone to use Google Translate to help explain himself.
Northumbria Police discovered this cannabis farm near Sunderland after a traffic stop resulted in one car occupant showing them a video of the farm instead of opening Google Translate
‘But, much to his horror, a video appeared on his screen which showed a significant cannabis farm in operation,’ the force said.
Police arrested the pair and then searched a property in the village of Easington Lane, where they found a cannabis farm with 600 plants growing on three floors.
Sergeant Steve Passey, of Northumbria Police, said: ‘It’s safe to say the suspect was a little shocked and tried to quickly lock his phone in the hope that nobody had seen.
‘Unfortunately for him, that resulted in him and his associate spending a night in a police cell – and we were able to carry out further inquiries which led us to an address on High Street in Easington Lane.
Police described the operation as ‘sophisticated’ and two men have been released on bail
The occupant of the car, whose first language was not English, tried to use Google Translate app to explain himself to officers but accidentally ended up showing them a video of the farm
‘Inside, a sophisticated cannabis operation was found and we have now been able to dismantle that and ensure those drugs do not make their way on to our streets.’
The two men – aged 22 and 38 – were arrested on suspicion of producing of a Class B drug and have been released on police bail.