Police nabbed 159 people allegedly carrying drugs at Centennial Park’s Listen Out music festival
POLICE have nabbed 159 people allegedly carrying drugs at Centennial Park’s Listen Out music festival on Saturday, despite the high profile fallout from two rave party deaths just a fortnight earlier.
NSW
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- Police and drug dogs out in force at Listen Out music festival
- Dance events have more than four times the amount of ecstasy-related arrests than night-life areas
POLICE have nabbed 159 people allegedly carrying drugs at Centennial Park’s Listen Out music festival on Saturday, despite the high profile fallout from two rave party deaths just a fortnight earlier.
Five people were charged with drug supply and the remaining 154 were hit with possession charges in a mammoth police operation scanning more than 34,000 revellers.
Eleven others were charged with assaulting police, resisting arrest, fail to quit and offensive behaviour.
Two men were also arrested in Wyong at 11.15am Saturday, allegedly on their way to Listen Out with 199 capsules of MDMA, knuckledusters, cannabis, cash and mobile phones in their car.
“The men told police that they were heading to a music festival in Sydney,” a police statement said.
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The men aged 26 and 19 were each charged with indictable drug supply and denied bail to front Wyong Bail Court today.
Medics took 12 people to hospital from the festival, seven with drug related health problems.
Edensor Park man Joseph Pham, 23, and Melbourne woman Diana Nguyen, 21, both died from drug related heart-failure at Penrith’s Defqon. 1 music festival on September 15, sparking debate among politicians and senior police over the need for pill testing or banning some festivals.
The operation commander of Saturday’s police sting Superintendent Karen McCarthy warned officers were going undercover inside this summer’s dance parties.
“There appears to be a small section of the community that continues to possess and deal in illegal substances, despite our warnings,” Supt McCarthy said.
“Both uniformed and covert officers attend these festivals so if you choose to act illegally or antisocially you will never know if the person standing next to you is a police officer.”