VIKTORIA BALANZATEGUI
A 23-year-old man has died and 14 others hospitalised after suspected drug overdoses at this years Defqon 1 festival.
Held at Sydney’s International Regatta Centre in Penrith for the fourth year, speculations are now spreading that perhaps a ‘bad batch’ of ecstasy was to blame after police confiscated many pill packets which had a horse head on the logo.
The young man from Victoria suffered seizures before midday and told medics that he had consumed ‘three pills’.
He was taken to Nepean Hospital where he suffered a series of cardiac arrests, doctors managed to resuscitate him but he passed away at 10.30pm.
With a crowd of over 18,000 partygoers at the rave festival, police nabbed 87 partygoers on offences; three being detained for public order offences while the rest were caught for drug-related offences.
There were over 100 police officers at the event and with the support of sniffer dogs, police stopped and searched 430 people; they said there was nothing more they could have done to prevent people from taking illicit drugs.
Some music punters speculated that the rise of illicit drug taking was increasing due to the exorbitant drink prices at festivals.
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell has spoken out to The Telegraph about this tragedy involving illegal drugs stating “they are not recreational drugs, they are deadly drugs.”
Penrith’s LAC Detective Inspector Grant Healy has confirmed the information.
“The problem with pills is you never know what you are getting and you are really taking a lottery with your life,” he said.
“There is no quality control and you are getting whatever the cook makes.”
Defqon 1’s organisers stressed on the website, “this festival is produced to give everyone a positive and safe experience. Q-Dance maintains a zero tolerance drug policy.”