Cop assaulted, brawls and drug arrests at Australia Day music festivals

An underaged dealer allegedly holding 579 caps and $2075 cash was one of 10 dealers arrested and charged by police at last night’s rave festivals. A policeman was also assaulted, brawls broke out and revellers were carted off on stretchers.

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An underaged dealer allegedly holding 579 caps and $2075 cash was one of 10 dealers arrested and charged by police at Sunday night’s rave festivals.

The 17-year-old youth, from Castle Hill, will face children’s court on February 20 on charges of supply prohibited drug, deal with property proceeds of crime and possess prohibited drug.

Police escort a young reveller away from Hardcore Till I Die. Picture: Matrix

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A 25-year-old Mount Pritchard man also faces drug supply charges after allegedly found with 100 MDMA pills and a 19-year-old South Australian woman is alleged to have been carrying 48 MDMA pills.

Both of the older alleged dealers were refused police bail and will face Parramatta Local Court today but the youth was granted bail.

Police said they were all caught at Sunday’s Hardcore Til I Die festival at Sydney Olympic Park.

Revellers at the Hardcore Til I Die festival at Sydney Olympic. Park Picture: Matrix

Four other alleged teenage drug dealers at the same event were given future court attendance notices after being charged in relation to MDMA supply.

At the Electric Gardens event in Centennial Park, a three people were charged with drug supply including a 25-year-old Guildford woman who had dealing quantities of MDMA.

One woman was treated for cuts to the face after a man allegedly threw a bottle.

Police will allege a security guard was responding to a separate incident when he was punched in the face by an 18-year-old man. The same man allegedly picked up a bottle and threw it at the guard but missed and hit the woman instead.

Up to a dozen people were taken to hospital for suspected drug overdoses.

There were also 11 people transported to hospital due to suspected drug overdose including six people at Westmead Hospital and five to St Vincent’s Hospital.

Although three men were in a critical condition overnight, they are now all stable.

The Premier’s view

Premier Gladys Berejiklian today said she was hopeful revellers were “starting to get the message” around the dangers of illicit drug taking after the government “upped the ante” with increased frontline emergency workers this weekend.

“This weekend in particular there was much more proactive information about the dangers of taking drugs and we do hope that means people are starting to get the message loudly and clearly,” Ms Berejiklian said this morning.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian is hopeful revellers will “start getting the message”. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

“It’s unfortunate we’ve lost so many lives for people to start getting the message but I’m hoping people are getting the message.

“Yesterday was a step in definitely in the right direction in making sure not only are we getting the messages out ... but we provide young people with the support they need whether it’s medical attention or information whether it’s information.”

Ms Berejiklian vowed the government would do everything in its power to save lives but said incidents also came down to “personal decisions and personal responsibility”.

“I know people are advocating one solution or another but there isn’t one solution — it’s a complex issue and we need to be there to support young people to make sure they have both the attention they need, the information they need and the medical attention they need,” she said.

Hardcore Till I Die and Electric Gardens

Yesterday a policeman was assaulted, brawls broke out, revellers were carted off on stretchers, and dozens of young people were arrested during two electronic dance festivals in Sydney.

As thousands of revellers filed through checkpoints at Hardcore Till I Die, an electronic dance event at Homebush, and Electric Gardens at Centennial Park, dozens were frogmarched out again by police.

At Centennial Park, at least 49 partygoers were pulled aside by police for drug possession offences, the majority of whom were stopped after being sniffed out by drug dogs.

Two people were charged with drug supply while a further 24 were handed field court attendance notices. Another 18 were issued with criminal infringement notices.

NSW Health said five people were taken to hospital, four from the Centennial Park event and one from the Homebush event.

This man was taken away by ambulance and police on a stretcher from HTID at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush.

While most remained in a stable condition, the man stretchered away from Homebush remained in a serious condition last night.

The Sunday Telegraph saw him with an oxygen mask as he was handed over to NSW Paramedics.

“Drugs are likely to have been a factor in three of these five cases,” NSW Health said in a statement.

Outside the Olympic Park train station, one man was spotted pulling something from his shoe, snorting it and tucking it back underneath his foot before heading towards the festival gates. But the heavy police presence couldn’t dampen the spirit of genuine music fans just out to have a good time.