Police seize ‘alarming’ amount of drugs at Splendour

POLICE are alarmed at record drug busts at the Splendour in the Grass music festival at Byron Bay, on the heels of a spate of music festival drug deaths, with a Queenslander the alleged worst offender.

In the week of an inquest into the deaths of six young people at music festivals across NSW, police made 350 drug detections, seized an “alarming” 3kg of drugs and arrested more than 200 people in a blitz on the three-day Splendour event, which ended on Sunday at the North Byron Parklands.

A Queensland man, who allegedly tried to smuggle more than 200 ecstasy pills into the festival campgrounds, was among those charged.

About 100 police with sniffer dogs were involved.

Tweed-Byron police commander Superintendent Dave Roptell said the large quantity of drugs seized was “alarming”.

“This year, a record amount of prohibited drugs was seized at Splendour in the Grass – it’s disappointing that despite the warnings, we continue to detect the possession and supply of these illicit substances,” he said.

“People are still not getting the message about taking illegal substances to this event. “Three kilos is a lot of drugs and people have just got to get the message that it’s harmful – harmful to yourselves and to others.”

Supt Roptell said MDMA was the most prevalent drug seized, followed by cannabis.

He said several people had been charged with drug supply offences, including the Queensland man who was busted on Thursday.

The 21-year-old was bailed to face Tweed Heads Local Court next month.

The crackdown came as NSW deputy coroner Harriet Grahame, who is heading the inquest into the music festival deaths, attended a pill-testing demonstration by Pill Testing Australia’s Dr David Caldicott at Splendour on Saturday.