Drugs seized within minutes of Electric Picnic starting

GARDAÍ seized illegal drugs at Electric Picnic within minutes of gates opening yesterday, despite festival-goers’ best efforts to hide them.

Drugs such as cocaine, MDMA, ketamine and LSD were seized after some Electric Picnic revellers tried to conceal their stash in shower gel bottles and sanitary items.

Posting on the Garda Síochána Laois Offaly Facebook page, gardaí said: “Gates opened at 4pm today and within minutes a number of seizures of illegal drugs have been made.

“Gardaí are carrying out searches and are reminding people attending that any seizures made will have consequences for the individual. Keeping people safe and free from harm is important.”

There have been a number of deaths of young people linked to drugs at festivals in both Ireland and the UK this summer.

With 57,000 flocking to Stradbally, Co Laois, for the weekend-long festival, the HSE warned festival-goers to avoid mixing drugs with alcohol, as well as mixing different drugs.

Festival-goers called for testing facilities to be made available, but many said they would be using drugs regardless.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one said they would be taking “probably cannabis and cocaine”, but would “definitely” use a testing facility. “Better to be on the safe side than act the fool and something bad happen to you.”

But a former ‘Ireland’s Got Talent’ star has pleaded with people not to repeat the mistake he made.

Brandon Webb (20), a barman and DJ, said he almost died in September last year after he ended up in a coma.

The young man, from Kildare, posted a photograph of himself in his hospital bed with a stark caption. “I’m no one too preach I’ve made mistakes,” he wrote.

“This weekend last year changed my life forever, I made a mistake and instantly regretted it. With Electric Picnic this weekend, just a word of advice: be careful and say no... you don’t want to go through what I did. Stay safe!”