A security guard working at Parklife Festival tried to smuggle hundreds of nitrous oxide canisters into the event, a court heard.
Mohammed Faisal, 23, avoided jail after appearing before a judge.
Manchester Crown Court heard that Faisal was working on security at last year's event in Heaton Park.
He was seen carrying a bag into the festival area, which is not permitted, and he was challenged by other staff.
The bag was found to contain 416 nitrous oxide canisters, also known as laughing gas or hippy crack.
The drug is legal to purchase for legitimate means, such as food production, but it became illegal to supply or import nitrous oxide for human consumption under the Psychoactive Substances Act which came into effect in 2016.
Faisal said he had been paid £100 to carry the bag 'for an artist', prosecutor Verity Quaite said.
The prosecution said it had been a 'breach of trust', but accepted Faisal's 'basis of plea' after his mobile phone showed no evidence of drug dealing.
In interview with the police, Faisal had claimed he was approached by a man who later walked off and left the bag, and that he had tried to follow him to return the bag.
Defending, Alex Leach said Faisal made an 'ill judged and naive decision', but that the defendant was not seeking to profit from the wider illegal drugs trade.
Faisal has lost his security licence as a result, and has got a new job working in a delicatessen, the court heard.
Appealing for the defendant to be spared jail, Mr Leach pointed out that the probation service had found Faisal represented a 'low risk of re-offending'.
Judge Alan Conrad QC agreed and handed Faisal a six month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
He must also complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
Sentencing, Judge Conrad told the defendant; "Your position is aggravated by the position that you held at the time as a security guard.
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"You made a poor decision and it’s a decision which has landed you in serious trouble and could well have landed you behind bars, not withstanding the mitigation available to you.
"You are a decent young man with a good record and this is a one off."
Faisal, of Ashworth Close, Blackburn, previously pleaded guilty to one offence of possessing a psychoactive substance with intent to supply.
