News
7 May, 2021
Police say drug festivals not wanted and issue 50 charges
Festivals like ‘Rabbits Eat Lettuce’ which was held at Jimna on the ANZAC Day long weekend put our community at risk and should be discouraged from being granted permission to operate within the Kilcoy district according to Kilcoy Police Officer-In-Charge, Sgt Martin Tanwan. Sgt Tanwan said these types of festivals attract a large amount of drug users and suppliers of drugs.
On the weekend of the festival, police initiated Operation Tango Kilcoy 1 targeting patrons attending the festival with proactive enforcement.
This resulted in 22 offenders being charged with 50 drug charges, with one person charged with two counts of supplying a dangerous drug; and a large amount of cannabis and MDMA was found in one vehicle.
The police operation also detected eight drug drivers, six drink drivers and 26 traffic offences. Drugs located were Cannabis, MDMA, Ketamine, Cocaine and LSD.
Kilcoy Police were assisted by officers from Moore, Woodford, Road Policing Unit and Tactical Crime section.
“Police will continue to conduct targeted enforcement regarding these festivals,” Sgt Tanwan said.
The festival was referred to by locals as a ‘hippie fest’.
“Come and camp in a beautiful natural environment... escape the hustle and bustle... let us be human again” was part of the slogan used to promote the Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival.
But several visitors to the festival acted like animals, traumatising a rural resident with their actions.
They crapped on and threw trash onto the front entrance of Yednia resident June Eaton.
They parked and camped on the roadside in front of Mrs Eaton’s property and while there, one hippie couple had sex in front of Mrs Eaton’s 3 and 7 year old grandchildren who were playing on her front verandah.
Mrs Eaton said she was told by Somerset Council it was her responsibility to clean up the front of her house after festival visitors just threw their rubbish around her Council wheelie bin.
Mrs Eaton says the front of her property ‘smelled like a latrine’ with evidence of stools where people had crapped on the lawn.
Mrs Eaton said Police told her they couldn’t take action – and warned her that photographing the crappers and sex couples to identify them ‘could breach their privacy’.
