Pair who dealt party drugs to Leeds Festival crowds caught out by their phones

Jacob Whittaker and Harry Neath have been jailed

Two drug dealers who preyed on “customers” attending Leeds Festival have been locked up.

Jacob Whittaker, and Harry Neath, both 26, were both caught dealing class As at the festival in 2023. Leeds Crown Court heard on Wednesday that a covert security officer was instructed to look in a blue gazebo in the orange camp at the festival and discovered Whittaker, of Dane Street North, Barnsley, with drugs.

Prosecutor Ayman Khokhar told the court: “She asked if he had any drugs and he handed something over and said, ‘That’s all I’ve got love,’ It transpired he had one bag containing class A tablets of 2C-B [often described as a mix between LSD and MDMA]. It weight 1.97g and had a festival value of £70.

“He had a very small amount of ketamine – 30ml. It was too small to put a meaningful value on.

“At this time also found in close proximity to the blue gazebo was Harry Neath. That appears to be why he is appearing alongside the other defendant. Police have looked at possible phone contact and there is nothing evidential that links him to Jacob Whittaker. Another covert security officer was given the description by a police officer of Harry Neath and approached him.”

Neath, of Willow Road in Leicestershire, was found to be in possession of four bags of cocaine with a 93 per cent purity. The cocaine weighed 4.4g and had a festival value of £160. He was also in possession of £305 in cash.

Mr Khokhar said: “This drew further suspicion as the festival was operating as a cashless event.”

Both men were arrested and a phone seized from Whittaker showed he had been involved in drug dealing for some time. The prosecutor said: “It showed he was engaging in discussions with a woman about smuggling drugs in Leeds Festival. Messages showed he was involved in the supply of drugs well before attending that year.

“Messages were indicative of ketamine supply as early as April 2023 and cannabis supply in June 2023, and a message asking if he was supplying a class A drug at that year’s Leeds Festival.”

Neath’s phone was also examined and found that while he was at the festival, he was sending messages to what appeared to be other visitors, advertising the sale of cocaine.

Mr Khokhar said: “In his notes section, he had two particular notes. One was a price list for what appeared to be cocaine quantities and another note was a real-time ledger of various drug transactions which were to be made, or had been made at the festival.”

Both Whittaker and Neath were interviewed by officers and handed over prepared statements before exercising their right to silence. Whittaker went on to admit possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs and being concerned in the supply of class B drugs.

Neath went on to admit possession with intent to supply class A drugs. He was of previous good character, while Whittaker had four previous convictions for seven offences on his record.

Mitigating for him, Sam Roxborough, told the court: “There is a pre-sentence report and references. The position he found himself at the time is summarised in the pre-sentence report. He had served a lengthy term of imprisonment he had only recently been released from. The fallout of that and other issues that led to his drug use were getting out of hand.

“£70 in festival value and a small amount of ketamine is indicative of the purpose he had, which was to feed his own habit. He accepts that in doing so he was likely to sell to others to make up these funds. It is right to say he has been a drug user since he was 17, which has come at a great cost to him.

“He has taken some positive steps to turn his life around. This is the best he has been in years, and an immediate custodial sentence will be detrimental to his progress…The reality is that he has stable accommodation, a supportive family, and is someone able to gain employment.”

Mitigating for self-employed electrician Neath, Rebecca Randall said: “He is a young man. In the circumstances of Leeds Festival, the cash was a small amount. I would submit it was a lesser role. It has more characteristics of a lesser role than a leading role. There was no one above him in the chain. It was immaturity, and I would go so far as to say, stupidity.

“He has continued this flawless life. It was a blip, something he will forever regret, and is ashamed of. In the words of his parents, who are in court, they said to me, ‘These things just don’t happen to us.’

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“They are as shocked as anyone. They are supportive now and have been throughout, but at the beginning, it was fair to say they were shocked and ashamed and he knows that and carries that with him. He is a self-employed electrician and has worked hard to build up his business and it is going really well.

“He has employed people in the past…He has made the sensible decision to step away from that the last few months because he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. His grandmother has terminal cancer and dementia, and was given months to live in last July, and as his mum says is on ‘borrowed time.’

“This is something that will never happen again. It was a terrible mistake. He is a young man who will never trouble the courts again and it is not often I can say that.”

His Honour Judge Menary jailed both Whittaker and Neath for 28 months.

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