Creamfields drug dealer jailed after nearly eight years on the run

On Sunday 27 August 2017, Aaron Godfrey, 29, was stopped at the northern entrance of the Creamfields Festival site by security staff following a positive indication from a drug detection dog.

Godrey, who was 21 at the time, was taken by security staff to have his hands swabbed for traces of drugs, during which he attempted to dispose of a small package containing orange tablets.

Staff spotted the package and questioned Godfrey about its contents, to which he replied that it contained ecstasy tablets. He went on to say that he had initially had the tablets hidden in his trousers but moved them to the inside of his jacket as they had fallen out on his journey to the festival.

Godfrey was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, and this arrest he told officers the 27 tablets in the package were for personal usage and he intended to take them himself at the festival – which was due to conclude just six hours later.

Officers also seized Godfrey’s phone upon his arrest and subsequent data from it revealed multiple text messages relating to the sale of illegal drugs.

He was subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs and bailed to appear at Warrington Magistrates’ Court a short time later.

However, he failed to appear at court and was found to have fled to Ireland. Godfrey was added to the national wanted list and a number of enquiries were undertaken to locate him.

In 2022 he was arrested after stepping off a plane in Birmingham and taken into custody.

Following his arrest Godfrey appeared at Coventry Magistrates’ Court, where he was bailed by the court to Warwickshire Crown Court at a later date.

However, he chose to flee the country a second time in a further attempt to escape justice.

Upon being informed that Godfrey had fled the country for a second time, officers’ request for an international Red Notice alert to assist in locating him was granted and circulated by Interpol.

In 2024, Spanish police caught up with Aaron Godfrey and arrested him as he stepped off a plane in Murcia with a group of friends, who had been intending to enjoy a golfing holiday.

Despite spending three months fighting extradition charges, he was transferred from Spain to the Netherlands where he was put before the International Criminal Courts who decided he would return to Britain.

Back in Britain, Godfrey was handed an immediate six-month prison sentence in December of 2024 for twice failing to appear in court and fleeing the country.

Aaron Godfrey then returned to Coventry Crown Court on Wednesday 11 June 2025 in relation to the drug offences at Creamfields eight years prior. Throughout his hearing, Godfrey maintained that the MDMA pills he was caught with were for personal use and had no intention to sell them onward.

The court dismissed this and he was handed a further prison sentence of two years and ten months.

Detective Neil Flemming, of the Creamfields Post Investigation Team, said:

“Mr Godfrey’s defence was that the drugs he was found with were for social supply to friends at the festival for no reward or payment, I am glad that the Judge dismissed this and the wording in his initial charge stood, this being that the drugs were for commercial supply.

“What started as a relatively straightforward investigation relating to the sale of drugs at Creamfields turned into a seven-year operation that required several law enforcement agencies across several countries to work collaboratively to locate, arrest and eventually bring Arron Godfrey to justice.

“The irony is that Aaron Godfrey’s refusal to take any accountability for his actions by fleeing the country not once, but twice, in an attempt to escape justice, has resulted in him landing more time in prison than he would have if he had just accepted his crimes.

“It just goes to show that with a bit of perseverance and patience, Cheshire Police will always get their man no matter how many years have passed since their crimes.”