Leeds Festival dealer sold drugs to raise cash for Australia travel plans

Lewis Hadfield was caught with 26 bags of ketamine at this year’s event at Bramham Park, along with weighing scales.

He avoided being locked up at Leeds Crown Court this week after the judge accepted the 19-year-old had made a “stupid mistake”.

The court heard that security saw Hadfield at the three-day music festival in August acting suspiciously. When they approached him at around 5pm on August 24, he gave them his name and searched him to find the small grip-seal bags of white powder in his man bag.

He told them it was ketamine, a drug used as an animal tranquiliser but causes hallucinogenic effects for people. He handed over the keys to his Skoda in the car park which was searched and more drugs and the weighing scales were found. The total value of the drugs found came to £520.

Hadfield, of Moor Park Drive, Addingham, near Ilkley, admitted possession with an intent to supply a Class B drug. He has no previous convictions.

Mitigating, Matthew Stewart said Hadfield had come from a good home but had been a user of ketamine since lockdown. He said he was due to go travelling next month and thought a quick way to make spending money would be to buy a larger amount of ketamine and sell it at the festival.

Drugs at festivals often fetch higher prices due to the enclosed nature of the event.

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Mr Stewart said: “He knows he has let himself down. It was an horrendous error of judgement. He is quite frankly terrified.

“It was a one off, he is devastated about what he has done.”

Judge Neil Clark told Hadfield: “It’s a serious offence. It’s a well-known fact that the value of drugs is much greater because of the captive market.

“You had gone to the festival with scales to measure the drugs. You thought you could buy a larger amount of ketamine and sell that on to raise money for your plans to travel.”

He gave him an eight-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, gave him 160 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation days with probation.

He warned him: “Do not be that stupid again. You have a bright future, do not throw it away.”