Dealers including former Manchester United chef caught with £8,000 worth of drugs at Leeds Festival

Daniel Matthews and Robert Kurzweil, who are both from Manchester, were caught with large quantities of cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy) and 2,000 cannisters of nitrous oxide (laughing gas). They were also caught in possession of thousands of pounds in cash.

Both were jailed at Leeds Crown Court this morning after admitting two counts of dealing in Class A Drugs and possession of criminal property. Kurzweil was jailed for 36 months, with Matthews handed 32 months.

It comes as calls grow for improved security at the Bramham Park music festival following the death of a 16-year-old in 2022.

Passing sentence, Judge Mushtaq Khokhar said: “Every year we get a spate of cases where drugs have been supplied to others at the Leeds Festival, so you are not the first to appear before these courts.

"It’s serious and long sentences are imposed. Drugs are taken to these festivals where there are a considerable number of young people attending who are very often still at school. Some of them fall prey to drug dealers and experience drug taking for the first time.”

The court heard that on the first day of the festival this year, August 25, security staff were alerted to potential drug dealers on one of the campsites, so went to the site accompanied by police officers.

They found 27-year-old Kurzweil and 29-year-old Matthews, who tried to flee but were quickly detained. Kurzweil had £600 on him with Matthews holding £2,000. On them and in their tent, they found £4,600 worth of cocaine and £3,840 of MDMA.

The court heard that due to the demand for drugs at festivals, they were worth double than on the street.

Officers also found the gas cannisters and several “burner phones”, which contained messages related to drug dealing. In their VW Golf parked nearby, they found scales and snap bags used for dealing the drugs. Both later admitted the offences and have been held on remand since their arrest.

Kurzweil, of Selby Drive, Manchester, has 12 previous convictions for 20 offences, but none are drug related. Matthews, of Frodsham Road, Manchester, has three convictions for three offences, including a caution for possession for cannabis when he was a boy.

Mitigating for Kurweil, James Littlehales said he had been seven of them at the festival involved, had got the drugs “on tick” - to pay the dealer back after they were sold – and confessed he had expected to make money. He said he worked as a labourer and had two children aged six and two.

For Matthews, Sam Roxborough said he was a trained chef, and had even worked at Manchester United. He too is a father. Mr Roxborough said: “He admits he made a massive mistake. He went there with the intention of having a good time. He regrets immensely the impact it will have on his family.

“He has been inside for two months already and he knows what it’s like.”