A suspected drug dealer has been arrested after he managed to accidentally show police a video of a huge cannabis farm while trying to access Google Translate on his phone.

Officers stopped a suspicious grey Mercedes in Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland, on Wednesday evening – and noticed a strong smell of cannabis.

They did not find anything after searching the vehicle, but the problems did not end there for the two men in the car.

One of the suspects, who did not speak English as his first language, opened up his phone to use Google Translate to speak to the officers – and instead a video of a cannabis farm flashed up on the screen.

The pair, aged 38 and 22, were arrested on suspicion of production of a Class B drug.

Police later discovered a significant cannabis farm at a property in Easington Lane, where more than 600 cannabis plants were found covering three floors.

The farm was shut down and the drugs seized.

Sergeant Steve Passey, of Northumbria Police, said: “This was a rather unusual incident which saw a suspect open up his phone to try and use Google Translate – but inadvertently showed us a video of a cannabis farm in the area.

“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 enquiries which led us to an address on High Street in Easington Lane.”

Mr Passey added cannabis farms can be used to fund more serious crimes across the region and can often be a “death trap” in themselves.

“Often the electricity has been bypassed which poses a serious and real fire risk to not only the property involved, but families living in the vicinity,” he said.

The two men have been released on bail.

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