Victoria Police have arrested 29 festival-goers for drug offences on Friday at the Melbourne leg of the Big Day Out festival.
Following a Passive Alert Detection (PAD) dog operation at the entrance to the venue, Acting Superintendent Bernie Edwards noted that the number of drug-related arrests was down compared to last year’s event, during which police arrested 40 people for drug-related offences.
“Of the 23,000-odd crowd, only a small number chose to do the wrong thing,” he said. “We were generally happy with patron behaviour throughout the day, and it looks like most people enjoyed the event.”
26 men and three women were arrested, and of those 15 were referred to a drug diversion program whilst the other 14 were cautioned. Drugs seized by Victoria Police included ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis.
Edwards also issued a warning to punters for the rest of the festival season. “It will remain a focus for police to attend these sorts of music events in an attempt to minimise the risk to those using illicit drugs.”
Prior to the event he warned festival-goers about the obvious dangers, saying, “The sorts of drugs that we’re detecting can cause significant harm to the body… They’re manufactured by criminals who have no regard for the wellbeing of those taking them.”
Big Day Out 2014 hits Sydney next for Australia Day on 26th January, before heading to Adelaide and finally Perth.
Check out our full Big Day Out coverage here – reviews, photos and more!
