While the war on drugs and festivals has been relatively subdued as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a revelation within the NSW Police Force that you are not going to believe.
Senior officers of the NSW Drug Squad have had their homes raided after accusations that they have created a drug syndicate to entrap people.
A number of NSW Police detectives have been accused of encouraging criminal behaviour and manufacturing drugs in order to entrap people.
If this isn’t a bad look for the NSW Police, we don’t know what is. Addressing the discovery, an NSW Police spokesperson stated:
“State Crime Command have referred a matter to the Professional Standards Command for further investigation. SF (StrikeForce) Dominion has been established by Professional Standards Command and remains an ongoing investigation.”
So far, there have been no charges made and there is yet any evidence to suggest that the detectives were attempting to profit from their operation. However, there are several allegations of embellishing and falsifying testimonies in order to entrap people.
This news is particularly relevant to the NSW festival industry, who have struggled immensely as a result of the NSW Police Force’s harsh-handed drug operations. However, the Police shadiness is certainly not newfound.
Just recently, they were placed under investigation for the unlawful strip-searching of minors at a number of NSW festivals. In addition, the force was taken to court over the policy that punters would be denied entry into a festival if a sniffer dog sat down next to them, even if no drugs were found. Furthermore, pill-testing has been rejected in NSW despite overwhelming evidence that it works as an effective safety measure for festival-goers.
It’s clear that the NSW Police Force will be under hot water over the ensuing months, and perhaps Premier Gladys Berejiklian will feel the heat too.
