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Suspected drug dealers should never act suspiciously. At least that’s what a U.K. man learned when police stopped his vehicle and found illegal cannabis hidden both on his person and behind the car’s centre console.

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Kent Police officers on patrol last week found something suspicious about a black BMW 1 Series car being driven by a 22-year-old man, so decided to stop the driver at about 2:10 p.m. on Mar. 16.

Upon searching the driver, who lived in London, the officer found he was in possession of “several balls of cannabis,” according to police.

He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class B drugs, which includes cannabis.

A search of the vehicle revealed even more weed beyond the balls of bud, although not so easily accessed. The cannabis was discovered after removing a panel from the back of the centre console. Inside, there were three tubes containing the drug.

Initially arrested, the man has since been released pending further inquiries.

Another console failed to provide an effective hiding spot three years ago when Connecticut state police found almost a kilogram of cannabis in a hidden void underneath the centre console.

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A thorough search of a car belonging to a suspected drug dealer in #Dartford resulted in the discovery of cannabis in a secret compartment. Click the link for more – https://t.co/mykBNb9aut

— Kent Police (UK) (@kent_police) March 18, 2022

Medicinal marijuana is allowed in the U.K., but access and cost have long been sticking points. An article published two years ago found, at the time, “only very few National Health Service prescriptions have been written to date.”

As for recreational marijuana, any amount remains illegal throughout the U.K.

Although Kent Police did not mention exactly how much cannabis was recently discovered, the maximum punishment for possessing Class B drugs — which also includes amphetamines, ketamine and synthetic cannabinoids — is as long as five years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

Supplying or producing weed carries the same maximums, except potential prison time is 14 years.

FILE: The deputy opted to perform a traffic stop involving a Ford F-150 towing a trailer “that had a very strong odour of marijuana coming from it. Photo by Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, Facebook

Hiding weed on wheels is not new, but at least the U.K. man put a little effort into the subterfuge.

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The same could not be said for a Texas man busted in December last year. Police stopped the man for an expired vehicle registration sticker, but upon approaching the vehicle and smelling weed, carried out a search and had no problem finding a backpack stuffed with a half-pound of cannabis.

At least that cannabis was tucked in a bag inside another bag.

Even less effort was taken by two men nabbed in California in the fall of 2020 when all a sharp-nosed deputy had to do was pull aside a tarp to reveal 354 kilograms of cannabis inside a trailer towed by a truck. Both occupants were subsequently arrested for transporting cannabis.

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