A man has been arrested and charged with supplying drugs to one of the two men who died at Sydney’s Knockout Outdoor festival over the weekend. The dance festival took place at Giants Stadium in Olympic Park on Saturday, 30th September, with more than 50,000 people attending.
NSW Health confirmed that a 26-year-old man was treated onsite before being taken to Concord Hospital, where he was unable to be revived. Another man, aged 21, fell ill later in the evening at a hotel in the CBD and was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
Calls For Pill Testing Following Deaths at Knockout
The Guardian reported on Tuesday afternoon that a man called Trong Ha Nguyen had been arrested at Sydney airport in connection with the death of the 21-year-old. Nguyen was taken to Mascot Police Station where he was charged with supplying a prohibited drug causing death and dealing with proceeds of crime less than $100,000. Nguyen didn’t apply for bail.
“During a search of the man, police located and seized $13,535 in cash to undergo forensic examination,” a police spokesperson said, as per The Guardian.
Sky News has also reported on Wednesday, 4th October that a second man had been arrested in connection with the 21-year-old’s death. The 28-year-old Melbourne man was reportedly friends with the deceased and was charged with supplying a prohibited drug.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has pushed back on calls to introduce pill testing, telling reporters that the harm minimisation measure is not a “silver bullet”.
“I need to make sure when decisions are made about festival safety – which is our primary concern – it’s done with the full information on the table,” Minns said, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
“If I thought that [introducing pill testing] was a silver bullet that would solve deaths at music festivals, of course I would take it, but when it comes to toxicity, when it comes to MDMA and ecstasy use, there’s no safe drug-taking at festivals or anywhere else.”
Further Reading
Two People Die Following Sydney’s Knockout Outdoor Festival 2023
Queensland Government to Introduce Pill Testing Sites for “Harm Minimisation”
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