PA ImagesA drug dealer at Leeds Festival took a turn away from the Scarface playbook after texting his price list to police officer.
Martynas Benosenko was caught white-handed with more than £3,000 of drugs, from cocaine and MDMA to a small amount of cannabis, as well as business cards with ‘Flavour Town LS6’ printed on them.
The 22-year-old, a former TGI Friday chef, dug himself a hole when he sent out a text advertising his stock of narcotics – unfortunately for Benosenko, one of those messages landed in a police-issued mobile phone.
PA ImagesAs reported by Leeds Live, prosecutor Jessica Randall said Benosenko caught the attention of the police at the festival in Bramham Park back in August 2018, after security staff saw him smoking cannabis and acting suspiciously in the grime tent.
When officers searched his bag, they found cocaine (with a purity of 94%) in 28 individual deals, along with 67 MDMA tablets. Leeds Crown Court also heard the total street value of the drugs was estimated at £3,630.
PA ImagesBenosenko – from Autumn Place, Hyde Park, Leeds – was jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to two offences of possession of a class A drug with intent to supply and possession of cannabis.
Christopher Dunn, mitigating, gave some context as to how Benosenko ended up selling drugs at the festival:
He decided to go sell drugs at Leeds Festival while completely high. He thought it would be a good idea, not having a clue what he was getting himself into. To say this was a Heath Robinson operation would be something of an understatement.
He rocks up at the festival, takes a lot of these drugs himself, obviously turning attention to himself, and then sends his price list to the police. This is a man who lost his job and thought he could make a quick buck.
The court had little sympathy for Benosenko though, with recorder Joanne Kidd saying the fact he ‘chose this venue to ply your trade is an aggravating feature’ in his sentencing.
PA ImagesKidd added:
When parents allow their children and young people to attend these festivals, it is often with a degree of trepidation. You set out to earn a significant amount of money and the young people at the festival are vulnerable to people like you preying on their vulnerability and stupidity.
There is not a single festival of this size that goes on without young people collapsing, becoming seriously ill and, in some circumstances, dying.
At Leeds Festival last year, a 17-year-old girl from Oldham, Greater Manchester, died after a suspected drug overdose – over the past two years, there have been 12 deaths at UK music festivals.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or email via http://www.talktofrank.com/contact 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or livechat at http://www.talktofrank.com/livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.
After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.