Two industrious Stereosonic punters have been arrested after allegedly going to desperate lengths to sneak drugs into the annual EDM festival by hiding them around the venue site days before the event.
As Fairfax reports, police have been called to Sydney Olympic Park twice in the past week to find individuals attempting to drill holes in buildings to stash dozens of ecstasy pills ahead of Stereosonic.
Saturday will be one of Olympic Park’s biggest days since the 2000 Olympics, with 150,000 punters expected to attend four events at the complex, including Stereosonic, the Aus-X Open, and a Taylor Swift concert.
As a result, security has been extra vigilant and allegedly observed 21-year-old Zane Raffie last Friday night trying to drill a hole into a building in the park complex to stash drugs.
Inspector Chris Laid, of Flemington local area command, was hesitant to give details of Mr Raffie’s alleged plot, but did say the punter was trying to “install something [in the building] that could conceal drugs”.
When he was confronted by security guards, Raffie fled the scene and police were called. Investigators later went to his home in Green Valley where they seized 10 MDMA pills and a “prohibited plant”.
He wasn’t alone. On Tuesday night, police were once again called to Olympic Park after security guards observed 22-year-old Ali Ghoneim acting “suspiciously” in the area. Police searched his car and allegedly found 95 ecstasy tablets.
Inspector Laird said police found punters attempting the same practice last year and stepped up their surveillance of the area ahead of this year’s festival. “They’re going to desperate lengths,” he said.
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“We know this happens so we’ve been regularly sweeping the area with drugs dogs over the last few days to make sure we find stuff before the park is fully locked down.”
“At the end of the day, if you’re planning to take drugs in, you’ll get caught. If you’ve already secreted drugs, we’ve already found them so don’t bother turning up.”
As part of their strict conditional bail, both men have been barred from Sydney Olympic Park and police said they will be arrested if they turn up for Stereosonic.
