Courts & Police
1 October, 2026
Breaking: 100 charged in massive drug crackdown
More than 100 people have been charged with alleged drug offences and 43 motorists returned positive roadside drug tests during a major police operation at the Dragon Dreaming Festival.
More than 100 people have been charged with alleged drug offences and 43 motorists returned positive roadside drug tests during a major police operation at the Dragon Dreaming Festival near Wee Jasper.
Officers from The Hume Police District, assisted by the Dog Unit and Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, carried out the high-visibility operation around the festival site on Caves Road, about 50 kilometres south-west of Yass.
Police said 100 people were charged during the operation, with officers recording 164 drug detections.
A total of 242 people and 204 vehicles were searched.
Police also carried out 553 random drug tests, with 43 returning positive results, along with 2957 random breath tests.
Another 77 speeding infringement notices, six infringement notices and 26 other infringement notices were issued.
One of the most serious incidents happened about 5.15pm on September 24 when police stopped and searched a vehicle attempting to enter the festival.
Police allege officers found LSD, MDMA powder, MDMA tablets and capsules, methylamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, cannabis, prescribed medication and drug-related paraphernalia inside the vehicle.
A 41-year-old man was arrested and taken to Yass Police Station, where he was charged with 10 drug supply and possession offences.
He was refused bail and appeared before Bail Division Court 3 the following day, where bail was again refused.
He is due to appear before Goulburn Local Court on November 25.
In a separate incident about 7.30pm on September 27, police were called to the festival’s main stage area after security staff attempted to detain an allegedly agitated man.
Police allege the man elbowed an officer in the face while officers attempted to arrest him.
He was charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of duty causing actual bodily harm and hindering or resisting a police officer in the execution of duty.
He is due to appear before Yass Local Court on November 26.
The latest operation continues a long history of police drug enforcement surrounding Dragon Dreaming. In 2014 police recorded 74 drug detections at the festival, while a 2016 operation resulted in 116 drug detections, 42 drug charges and 51 positive roadside drug tests. In 2015, 23-year-old Anne Nguyen died after being found unresponsive at the festival, with coronial findings later recording her cause of death as ethylone toxicity.
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