Reading festival drug dealer jailed

He was identified by a sniffer dog

Author: Jonathan RichardsPublished 29th Aug 2025

A drug-dealer has been jailed after being caught at the entrance to last year’s Reading Festival.

Charlie Gosden had a large quantity of class A and B drugs on him and messages on his phone proved he was a dealer.

The 22-year-old man from Farnborough was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after admitting to numerous drug offences.

A drugs dog flagged Gosden while he was entering Reading Festival around 3pm on Wednesday 21 August 2024, leading to a search in which he admitted to carrying drugs.

Officers found Gosden in possession of approximately 53 bags of MDMA, 1.06 grams of MDMA, 53 tablets of 2C-B, 0.39 grams of ketamine, 29.7 grams of magic mushrooms and 39.5 grams of LSD in the appearance of a chocolate bar. They also seized his mobile phone, which contained 17,219 messages consistent with supplying drugs.

Teamwork

Investigating officer Detective Constable Dominique Maggs said: “This sentencing highlights the hard work put in from the investigation team from the day of offence into this year to bring Charlie Gosden to justice.

“It is a great testimony to the teamwork of the numerous people at Reading Festival and across the Thames Valley to tackle the supply of illegal drugs, which will never be tolerated.”

Drugs

Drugs that were recovered from Charlie Gosden

Gosden, of Cambridge Road West, Farnborough, was charged on 31 January this year and was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on 6 August after pleading guilty to:

Two counts of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs of class A, namely cocaine and magic mushrooms

Two counts of possession with intent to supply controlled drugs of class A, namely 2C-B and MDMA

One count of being concerned in the offer to supply a controlled drug of class A, namely LSD

One count of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class B, namely ketamine

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