It’s going to be a pretty rough start to 2013 for a fair amount of would-be festivalgoers who have been stopped in their tracks at the recent Summadayze music festival in Melbourne on New Year’s Day.
According to Victoria Police News, 77 men and 7 women were nabbed in the Passive Alert Detection (PAD). On top of that, around 70 people were given drug diversions and another 7 punters were cautioned after being caught with weed. Around 6 people were charged and are currently on bail, with only 1 person in serious trouble, potentially having to face a possible future summons pending further investigation.
All the usual suspects were amongst the drugs seized by the police: ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis.
Senior Sergeant Mark Pilkington has voiced his frustration at the hordes of patrons who continue to bring drugs through despite universal knowledge of the risks they are taking, both legal and otherwise.
“It’s disappointing that despite the warnings, some people still choose to ignore the risks of drug use,” he has stated, adding “These drugs are dangerous, they are manufactured by criminals with no regard to people’s safety. By conducting these operations, we are attempting to limit the effects drugs have on society.”
According to the police, the PAD sniffer dog operation is a two-pronged attack, focusing on both harm minimisation and also apprehending serious offenders with plans of distribution. But studies have shown that dogs don’t always know best.
