The 2012 Creamfields festival kicked off in Melbourne today and the police were out in force. 200 people were arrested for drug and drinking offenses during a dog operation that showed no sign of police backing off from targeting festival-goers. Of the 200 arrested, 180 were men and 20 were women, with the majority being referred to drug diversion programs.
According to the Victorian Police, ecstasy, cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines were seized during the event.
Acting Senior Sergeant Mark Pilkington said: “We will continue to police these types of events in an attempt to limit the impact these drugs have on society”.
The massive police presence and huge amount of arrests left a sour taste in the mouth of Melbourne punters, who had otherwise experienced one awesome day of electronic music. David Guetta, Above & Beyond, Dirty South, Alesso, Excision + a whole lot more bought the party to the Melbourne showgrounds to get things started on what is set to be a massive week for EDM fans, just watch out for the dogs.
One punter had the decency to warn festival-goers of the wrath they faced when arriving at the festival today (see below).
Somehow i dont think anyone with drugs would stand a chance today!! #dontdodrugs #creamfields twitpic.com/9elj74
— CS and D (@csandd) April 28, 2012
Late last year new figures were released by the State Government showing that sniffer dogs are often mistaken. In 2011 NSW Police have conducted more than 14,000 searches on people after sniffer dogs reacted to the potential presence of illegal drugs. In over 11,000 of those cases, illicit substances were not found, meaning that 4 times out of 5 our furry friends are getting it wrong – the dogs that is.
