Splendour drug bust: Katrina Hewitt, Solomon Lewis, Glen Ashton and Jacob Murphy

Splendour festival-goers who attempted to sneak illicit drugs into the Byron Bay event – including a woman who concealed hers internally – have copped a stern lecture from a magistrate.

A Queensland woman with a condom full of party drugs secreted inside her was among several Splendour In The Grass festival-goers who copped a stern lecture from a magistrate.

Although the presence of police drug detection dogs at the Splendour in the Grass festival on July 22 to 24 was highly advertised, some still tried to sneak in drugs – and failed.

At Byron Bay Local Court on September 12, magistrate Karen Stafford had some stern words for four people caught taking drugs into the popular music event.

“I used to work on local criminal cases where people manufactured this stuff (MDMA),” Ms Stafford said to the four defendants gathered before her.

“The people who manufacture this stuff don’t give a hoot about the health of the people who are going to take it – whether they are more susceptible to this sort of stuff.”

Ms Stafford then turned to the potential consequences of experimenting with so-called party drugs.

“I’m also the coroner for Byron Bay, and in the last few years I’ve seen too many cases, not people dying at festivals so much, but doing a lot of drugs that haven’t been tested and then getting behind the wheel of a car,” the magistrate said.

“There is a high percentage of people who die on the road with drugs in their system – when people say ‘it’s just a party drug’, I hope some of the things I’ve said to you today may stick with you and you will pass it on to others.”

Here are the four people who were caught red-handed attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the festival.

A young Queensland woman was caught with drugs secreted in a condom inside her body by a drug dog at Splendour, the court heard.

Katrina Hewitt, 25, of Burleigh, pleaded guilty at Byron Bay Local Court to possessing a prohibited drug at the Splendour in the Grass festival.

Hewitt was stopped at the festival’s entry gate on July 22 when a drug detection dog indicated she was carrying an illegal substance.

She was strip searched at a private location where 3.12g of MDMA was revealed, according to police documents.

Hewitt was attempting to smuggle the drugs in for personal use, the court heard.

A letter from her employer tendered to the court stated that this crime was “an error in judgement”.

Katrina Hewitt exits Byron Bay court after being charged with attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into Splendour.

“She was looking for the euphoric feeling of attending the festival for the first time in three years, but went about it the wrong way,” Hewitt’s employer said.

Ms Stafford found the offence proven but dismissed it without conviction.

“The location of the drugs, in terms of your health and safety, and the way it was concealed, could have gone very, very wrong, and the dogs detected it anyway,” Ms Stafford pointed out to Hewitt.

A NSW North Coast man caught with four different kinds of drugs at Splendour has been warned he is old enough to know better.

Glen Ashton, 42, pleaded guilty to four counts of drug possession on the first day of Splendour in relation to 2.48g of MDMA, 11 LSD tabs, 0.82g of cocaine and 0.57g of cannabis leaf.

The Casuarina man’s solicitor told Ms Stafford that Ashton was under great personal stress related to family issues when he made the decision to try and smuggle drugs into the event.

“You’re an older man now, in your 40s,” Ms Stafford noted.

“In your case there is a strong need to deter you from reoffending.”

Glen Ashton exits Byron Bay court after being convicted for possessing illicit drugs at Splendour.

Ms Stafford said the court could not take into account any consequences that may flow from drug possession convictions, such as difficulties travelling overseas or obtaining certain kinds of
employment.

Ms Stafford convicted Ashton for the MDMA and LSD, fining him $300 for the MDMA and $600 for the LSD.

Ashton was not convicted for the cocaine or cannabis and the offences were found proven and dismissed.

Another North Coast man who attempted to avoid drug detection dogs on the first day of Splendour was thwarted and caught out with MDMA in his jacket lining.

Lennox Head man Solomon William Robert Hurford Lewis, 22, pleaded guilty at the Byron Bay Local Court to possessing prohibited drugs at the Splendour in the Grass festival.

Lewis and two male friends went to great lengths to conceal the illegal substance when attempting to enter the festival, but police located 2.92g of MDMA in the lining of his jacket, according to police documents.

On July 22, police were conducting a drug dog operation at the festival when undercover police saw the group of males rearrange themselves twice as they approached the gate to prevent Lewis being closest to the police detection dogs.

After watching Lewis clearly try to avoid the dogs, the undercover police revealed their identity and took him to a private location to be searched where the illegal drugs were located, according to police documents.

Magistrate Stafford expressed her disappointment with Lewis after learning that he initially lied to the police by saying that he didn’t know how the drugs got there.

“That‘s absolutely rubbish,” Ms Stafford said.

Lewis’ brother wrote a letter to the court saying the crime was very out of character for his brother, who he lives with, and that it was a “one off mistake”.

“It saddens and completely surprises me,” Lewis’ brother said.

Due to Lewis’ clean criminal record, Ms Stafford exercised her discretion and did not record a conviction.

Meanwhile, a former art degree graduate said he was “embarrassed” after he was caught trying to dispose of illicit drugs at Splendour.

Footscray man Jacob Francis Murphy, 24, also pleaded guilty at Byron Bay Local Court to possessing a prohibited drug at the Splendour in the Grass festival.

At the festival entry, police detection dog, ‘Sly’ stopped Murphy’s arrival by indicating the presence of a prohibited drug on the accused.

Jacob Francis Murphy exits Byron Bay court after being charged attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into Splendour.

Murphy attempted to remove a bag of tablets from his pocket to discard them on the ground, which was witnessed by police, and they found 0.94g of MDMA inside.

“I’m satisfied you’re embarrassed,” Ms Stafford said.

“There was a clumsy attempt to hide the drugs – all of the advertising says there will be drug dogs at Splendour.”

Ms Stafford exercised her discretion and chose not to convict Murphy, finding the charge proven and dismissing it after hearing he was genuinely remorseful.

The court heard that Murphy has not been convicted as he showed genuine remorse and was intending to use the illegal drugs only for personal use.