COVENTRY, UK — Aaron Godfrey, a 29-year-old Irish national, has been sentenced to two years and ten months in prison, nearly eight years after he was first caught with MDMA at Creamfields Festival in 2017. His sentencing at Coventry Crown Court on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, follows years of evasion and international arrest warrants.
Godfrey was originally detained on August 27, 2017, after a drug detection dog flagged him at the northern entrance of the music festival. Security discovered a package containing 27 orange ecstasy tablets which he attempted to discard. He initially claimed the pills were for personal use during the remaining six hours of the event.
However, analysis of his mobile phone revealed numerous messages relating to drug sales, leading to charges of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
Godfrey was bailed to appear at Warrington Magistrates’ Court, but he fled to Ireland before his hearing. A national warrant was issued, and despite being arrested in 2022 upon arrival in Birmingham, he fled the country again after being bailed to appear in court.
This led to an Interpol Red Notice, and in 2024, he was arrested by Spanish police as he arrived in Murcia for a golfing holiday. Following a three-month extradition battle, he was transferred to the Netherlands and subsequently returned to the UK.
In December 2024, Godfrey received a six-month prison sentence for twice failing to appear in court. He now faces an additional two years and ten months for the original drug offence, after the court rejected his continued claim that the MDMA was solely for personal use.