Drug dealer caught selling at Leeds Festival after Wetherspoon's sacking
He avoided custody after judge showed mercy
A desperate drug dealer said he came to the Leeds Festival to make money after being sacked from his job at a Wetherspoon’s pub.
Jamal Da Costa Denny travelled up from the Midlands for the music event, but was caught selling MDMA, ketamine and diazepam.
However, the 26-year-old avoided custody this week at Leeds Crown Court
The court heard that security, tasked with targeting drug pushers, had spotted Denny acting suspiciously at Bramham Park on August 23, 2024.
He was observed at 7.45pm heading towards the camping site, then exchange drugs for cash.
Moving in to detain him, they found £30 cash in one hand, and a bag of ketamine in the other.
He also had two mobile phones on him, one of which contained drug-dealing messages.
His tent was searched and they found containers of drugs. In total, he had £513 worth of substances with him.
Prosecutor Jessica Lister said because of festival setting, drugs are often sold at inflated prices, making the drugs worth more.
Denny, of Woodfield Road, Pinxton, Nottinghamshire, gave a no-comment police interview. He later admitted dealing in drugs of Class, A, B and C.
Mitigating, Daniel Ingham said Denny had no previous convictions and had a long-standing problem with alcohol.
He had lost his employment at the Wetherspoon pub at Birmingham Airport weeks before the festival and admitted he wanted to “make some money”.
It was heard that Denny had built up a debt because of his own drug taking and was selling the substances to help pay it off.
Judge Christopher Batty described his operation as “unsophisticated”, and was under direction from others with little personal reward.
He handed him a 26-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, with 10 rehabilitation days to complete and a nine-month alcohol treatment requirement.