POLICE have revealed the ridiculous attempts by drug smugglers who have failed to avoid detection at Creamfields.
The bizarre and desperate methods concocted by drug dealers and their accomplices to stow away their illicit hauls in a brazen attempt to out-smart officers have failed to have the desired effect.
Their creative tactics proved futile after eagle-eyed police, along with enforcement from the drugs dogs unit, have been able to sniff out the illegal stashes.
PICTURED: Fake batteries were hidden inside a torch to smuggle drugs into the festival
Many of those caught are serving time behind bars while others await their fate ahead of a sentencing hearing.
- Creamfields drug dealers jailed for more than 30 years
- Three more drug mules jailed after failed plans to hide illicit haul destined for Creamfields
Thirteen bags packed full of drugs destined for Creamfields were also seized by police after revellers decided at the last-minute to dispose of illicit substances in the amnesty bins which line the festival entrances.
This is the biggest haul that has been collected at the annual bank holiday event in Daresbury – a sign that the festival’s zero-tolerance stance on drugs and the police’s repeated warnings about illegal supply is sinking in according to DC James Thompson, from Cheshire Police’s serious and organised crime unit.
He said: “The biggest frustration for me is that people think because it is a festival that the rules are different but it’s not. The law is the law.
“Creamfields carry out a good job when searching and enforcing their terms and conditions.
“They always tell us when people breach their rules and try to get away with things like drugs.
“Anyone who goes to this festival runs the risk of being searched.”
PICTURED: Cider can used to try to smuggle in drugs
Around 70,000 people attended Creamfields last year – 131 people were arrested on suspicion of drug-related offences over a one-week period.
A total of 35 people were taken to hospital – four of these were linked to drugs.
One hospital trip was a result of a concealed drugs stash that couldn’t be removed.
DC Thompson added: “Drugs are no more rife at Creamfields than any other festival.
“One of the reasons is because drugs are seemingly more readily available now on the dark web.
“We keep comparing it to previous events but it’s now a four-day festival so we are bound to find more people.
“We are proactive at Creamfields.”
PICTURED: Seized drugs at Creamfields
Pink Rolls Royce, green hand grenades, yellow stormtroopers and Oreo cookies are just some of the illicit pills seized at last year’s event and once uncovered the drugs are sent for forensic testing.
The most potent was a batch of pink teddy bears which contained 203 milligrams of MDMA.
DC Thompson added: “After the death of Joe Sheppard at Creamfields in 2016 we reassessed and said ‘what can we do better?’
“Last year was the first time we put out safety messages and we had someone on site testing the drugs.
“We identified three things that caused us concern as the drugs had been passed off as ecstasy.
“There was a girl who we found with the stuff. When we told her she called her mates and they handed them over. They weren’t prosecuted.
"Our primary role is to keep people safe so that everyone goes home.”
Here are a list of the top ten unusual but failed smuggling attempts at Creamfields festival.
- Hidden in the middle of a homemade chocolate cake
- Tucked away inside cooked chicken
- Stuffed inside tuna sandwiches
- Concealed inside the body
- Hidden inside a can in a crate of alcohol
- Inside fake torch batteries
- Shampoo bottles
- Smarties tubes
- Pot Noodles
- Coating the drugs in curry powder to mask the smell
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