Hundreds Face Drug Charges After Sydney Festivals This Weekend

Sydney was host to a slew of music festivals this weekend with Soundwave, Future Music Festival and the Secret Garden Festival all in town, keeping NSW police busy with their previously-announced drug detection operations.

Police announced late last week that a high visibility sniffer dog operation will be underway at all New South Wales festivals on the weekend, despite an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of those types of operations.

The bulk of the weekend’s drug charges, according to NSW Police, were made at Saturday’s Future Music Festival, where 177 people out of the 41,000 strong crowd will face court after being caught possessing or supplying drugs.

Reports Fairfax, three people were taken to hospital during the Sydney EDM festival, one in a serious but stable condition who was suspected of being under the influence of a substance.

Of the 177 punters found with drugs, 168 of were charged with drug possession and nine have been charged with drug supply offences, including one man who was found to be in possession of more than 100 caps, of what was believed to be MDMA. Police still praised the behaviour of the majority of Future Music revellers.

The dog operation was also in force during the two-day Sydney Soundwave festival, which saw one person charged with drug supply, 21 people issued with field court attention notices for drug detections and 42 people handed cannabis cautions.

16 people were charged with drug-related offences during a police drug dog operation at the Secret Garden Music Festival in Camden this weekend. NSW Police and their Dog Unit conducted 163 person searches and 60 vehicle searches, resulting in 33 alleged drug detections for MDMA, cocaine, LSD and cannabis.

The police’s drug detection operations at music festivals has been the subject of ongoing debate, with many in both the music industry and the public health sector calling for a new approach including the abandonment of sniffer dogs and the introduction of pill testing systems.

Gallery: Die Antwoord @ Future Music Festival 2015, Sydney / Photos: Maria Boyadgis

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