A YOUNG man who had aspirations of joining the British Army threw the prospect away by ‘stupidly’ trying to smuggle drugs into Creamfields.

Cory Jones was caught with a selection of drugs as he made his way into the Daresbury-based music festival in August last year.

The now 21-year-old, who was only 20 at the time, heard that while he was looking to fund his own drug habit, he was also expecting ‘significant money’ as profit from sales.

He was told that drugs are a ‘scourge on society’ and that the message must go out that taking drugs into Creamfields has very serious consequences.

Jones appeared for sentence at Chester Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to three charges of possession with intent to supply drugs – namely cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine.

Oliver King, prosecuting, explained how he was stopped by police officers as he attempted to enter the north entrance of Creamfields on the morning of Friday, August 27, last year.

He was searched and found to be in possession of 11 bags containing deals of cocaine, graded as 83 per cent purity and valued inside the festival at £550.

He had a further three bags on him containing 38 tablets of MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy, which had a festival value of £380.

Officers also discovered a smaller bag of ketamine, which experts estimated would be worth between £70 and £90, as well as a three-day Creamfields ticket and his mobile phone.

Jones was arrested and interviewed by police, during which he gave what was described as a ‘scripted or well-rehearsed’ explanation that him and his friends had pooled together to buy the drugs.

He was tasked with taking them inside and they would split them between themselves once they did so. Jones said that he had no intention of selling them for profit.

Mr King read out a police statement detailing the impact of drugs at Creamfields and the ‘enormous’ resources required to police it.

The statement referenced all the measures that warn people of the consequences of trying to take drugs in, including amnesty bins, posters detailing the sentences handed down by the courts in recent years and the health risk involved in taking drugs.

Jones was sentenced at Chester Crown Court

Jones was sentenced at Chester Crown Court

Defending Jones, who has no previous convictions, Jade Tufeil said: “The defendant is realistic about his position. He has brought a bag with him and is prepared for immediate custody.”

She spoke of how he has never been in trouble with the courts before, but how has a ‘history of drug abuse’.

However, he has taken steps to deal with his drug use, which has decreased a ‘considerable amount’, she added.

Ms Tufeil spoke of Jones’ previous aspiration to join the army, to which judge Everett said he would be ‘astonished’ if the army would take him now.

Despite the setback, he now works as a steel fitter and has gained additional qualifications, with his life in a ‘different position to what it was eight months ago’.

Before sentencing, judge Steven Everett, who earlier in the hearing described the idea of taking drugs into Creamfields as ‘stupid’, said: “You pleaded guilty to three serious matters you are facing.

“Taking drugs into Creamfields can cause potentially really serious harm.

“Drug taking, particularly class A drugs like cocaine and ecstasy, is part of a scourge of society, and is one of the major causes of criminal activity.

“People take them and poison their bodies, and the risk is not worth taking.

“You were motivated to pay for your own use of drugs, but you were hoping for money as well, and significant money.”

Jones, of Bryn Heol in Bedwas, south Wales, was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

An order was also approved for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs seized, his mobile phone and his Creamfields ticket.