'Wannabe YouTuber' turned to drug dealing after DJ work dried up during pandemic
A "wannabe YouTuber" has been jailed for six years after he was found with a huge haul of cocaine worth up to £320,000 on the streets and a stash of nearly £85,000 cash.
Levi Kinder became well-known for his self-promoting internet videos and he tried to build himself up into a budding YouTube personality.
But disaster struck when the Covid-19 restrictions caused his lucrative work as a DJ in Spain to dry up and landed him with financial problems – leading to him becoming involved in drug dealing, Hull Crown Court heard.
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Kinder, 34, of Quay Road, Bridlington, admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply and acquiring or possessing cash as criminal property on April 16.
Amber Hobson, prosecuting, said that police executed a search warrant at the premises in Quay Road and carried out a search. Kinder told officers where a bag was and it was found to have four blocks of cocaine and a large amount of cash inside it.
The 4kg of cocaine had a potential estimated street value of between £120,000 and £320,000 and the cash seized was £84,990. A seizure order had already been requested for the cash.
Police also found scales, mobile phones, a hard drive and weapons, including a baseball bat, a ball bearing gun and a lock knife. Drug-related messages were found on a phone.
Kinder was arrested at the scene and he remained in custody on remand. During police interview, Kinder made mostly no comment replies to questions. He had no previous convictions.
Stephen Robinson, mitigating, said that Kinder had previously worked as a DJ in Spain but, when he came home to the United Kingdom for the winter, the Covid pandemic struck and the restrictions imposed meant that all his work disappeared.
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Kinder fell on hard times because of the loss of an income and he became involved in drug dealing in Bridlington, said Mr Robinson.
Kinder had made progress while he was remanded in custody and he pleaded guilty to the offences at the earliest opportunity.
After the hearing, a fellow YouTuber, who was had links and contact with Kinder through her own channel, told Hull Live: "The YouTube community was shocked to find out about this and that, of all the characters, he did that. He came across as a nice kid but you never really know. It was shocking.
"He has helped me edit documents for my channel. I have got a tiny YouTube channel."
"He has been playing live music and taking requests. I was a member of Levi's channel until this happened. I have had personal conversations with him on the phone about YouTube stuff and he has always helped me with technical stuff. He was quite a technical whizz.
"He was a wannabe YouTuber. It was quite a shock when it came out that he was involved in this stuff."