Mark Sitton Kent, a former Director of Operations at the Environment Agency, has been convicted of buying and selling drugs used in chemsex with men he met on the dating app Grindr. The 57-year-old divorced father-of-two pleaded guilty to being concerned in the sale of methamphetamine and GHB between 2019 and 2023, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
Phone evidence revealed that Sitton Kent purchased the drugs in “wholesale amounts” and sold them to individuals he met on the gay dating app. He also “offered to administer controlled drugs to others and asked others to inject him” as part of the “dangerous” sexual practice.
Sentencing him to a two-year jail term suspended for 21 months, Judge James Sampson warned: “Be under no illusions, these drugs kill. They have been implicated in the deaths of gay men up and down the country. They are dangerous, and by peddling these dangerous substances for your own gratification, you have risked the lives of others.”
Prosecutor Devni Kitulagoda said officers arrested Sitton Kent at a Newark address on 12 October 2023, finding a capsule of methamphetamine in a brown bag. Messages on his phone showed he intended to purchase 50g of methamphetamine and about 1 litre of GHB, enough for 400 to 1,000 doses, partly to sell and recoup costs.
Mitigating, Digby Johnson said Sitton Kent came out as gay in his 50s after being married and retired from his “well-paid and well-respected” role at the Environment Agency following rumours about his activities.
