AN ice hockey player has been found guilty of having drugs in a Worcester nightclub with intent to supply.

Robert Keen told a jury at Worcester Crown Court he thought the two bags of powder were a “legal high” he had intended to use at a festival in Birmingham. He denied a charge of possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply but the jury found him guilty.

He said he was naive about drugs and did not take anything illegal because he played ice hockey for a team in Solihull at the time and was subject to regular testing.

Keen, aged 24, of Highfield Road, Bramley, Leeds, was staying with his parents in Worcester and went into town with friends last October 13.

He said he had made a £20 contribution to a friend who was going to buy what he thought was a “legal high” known as Mambo or Black Mamba which they intended to take when they spent the weekend in a Birmingham hotel with a group of friends.

After the drugs were bought, Keen was given them to carry and decided to go with his friends to the Velvet Lounge nightclub.

He co-ooperated with a search for drugs and one bag was found in his pocket. Police were called and found the second bag in his underpants.

They also searched his parents' home but found no other drug paraphernalia.

The judge, Recorder David Mason QC, said the two bags contained a total of 53 grams of mephedrone – known as Meow Meow or Mcat – worth between £800 and £1,000.

He said the drug had been legal and readily available to buy on the internet until April last year when it became a class B controlled drug.

Keen, who, the court heard, expected to start a new job as a recruitment consultant on Monday, had only intended to give the drugs to friends as a social supplier rather than in a commercial venture.

Keen was given a community order for 12 months and ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,500 costs.