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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Defqon festival death: police to conduct tests on pills believed responsible | Defqon festival death: police to conduct tests on pills believed responsible |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A 23-year-old man who died after attending a Sydney music festival took three pills before having seizures and going into cardiac arrest, police said. | A 23-year-old man who died after attending a Sydney music festival took three pills before having seizures and going into cardiac arrest, police said. |
| Tests on a batch of pills featuring a horse-head logo that were seized at the western Sydney dance party are expected to reveal what killed the man and put 14 others in hospital. | Tests on a batch of pills featuring a horse-head logo that were seized at the western Sydney dance party are expected to reveal what killed the man and put 14 others in hospital. |
| Police believe revellers at the Defqon 1 dance festival took pills they thought were ecstasy but which actually contained other dangerous substances including one known as PMA. | Police believe revellers at the Defqon 1 dance festival took pills they thought were ecstasy but which actually contained other dangerous substances including one known as PMA. |
| The Victorian man suffered seizures and cardiac arrests after becoming ill at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith on Saturday afternoon. He died in hospital at 10.30pm. | The Victorian man suffered seizures and cardiac arrests after becoming ill at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith on Saturday afternoon. He died in hospital at 10.30pm. |
| Detective acting chief superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis described the man's death as a "tragic waste of a young life". | |
| "Don't take the risk, don't play Russian roulette with your life ... it's as simple as that," he told reporters in Parramatta. | |
| Det Katsogiannis said it was unclear what particular drug the man and other hospitalised partygoers had taken, with analysis continuing of various substances seized at the festival. | |
| However, he said the man told medical staff he had taken a number of ecstasy pills. Police said he was also in possession of another substance. | |
| "Until we have a post mortem conducted and until the toxicology tests are analysed and brought back we really don't know," he said. | |
| The New South Wales drug squad commander, Det Supt Nick Bingham, said police seized a number of pills with a picture of a horse's head imprinted on them. | |
| "We don't know what the whole 14 took but certainly there was a whole bunch of people caught with substances on them," he told ABC radio on Monday. | "We don't know what the whole 14 took but certainly there was a whole bunch of people caught with substances on them," he told ABC radio on Monday. |
| "The thing with these pills is people buy them thinking they're ecstasy," Bingham said. | "The thing with these pills is people buy them thinking they're ecstasy," Bingham said. |
| Bingham also said that some of the fake ecstasy pills took longer to kick in: "They think they've bought a dud pill so they take another one and they overdose." | Bingham also said that some of the fake ecstasy pills took longer to kick in: "They think they've bought a dud pill so they take another one and they overdose." |
| Bingham defended the heavy police presence at the event and denied it was responsible for people "stuffing" an entire day's worth of drugs before going in for fear of being detected. | Bingham defended the heavy police presence at the event and denied it was responsible for people "stuffing" an entire day's worth of drugs before going in for fear of being detected. |
| "If they are willing to stuff those pills down their throat before they even go in the venue it's hardly the police's fault," he said. | "If they are willing to stuff those pills down their throat before they even go in the venue it's hardly the police's fault," he said. |
| The police will prepare a report for the coroner outlining the circumstances leading to the man's death. They believe the man had travelled to the festival from Victoria with friends. | The police will prepare a report for the coroner outlining the circumstances leading to the man's death. They believe the man had travelled to the festival from Victoria with friends. |
| On Saturday, the New South Wales premier, Barry O'Farrell, said the tragedy was further proof that people are "dead wrong" to use the term “recreational drugs”. | On Saturday, the New South Wales premier, Barry O'Farrell, said the tragedy was further proof that people are "dead wrong" to use the term “recreational drugs”. |
| "They are not recreational drugs. They are deadly drugs," O'Farrell told reporters. He said police were "sick and tired" of having to deal with drug offences. | "They are not recreational drugs. They are deadly drugs," O'Farrell told reporters. He said police were "sick and tired" of having to deal with drug offences. |
| "How many times do people have to be told that these things can kill?" he said. | "How many times do people have to be told that these things can kill?" he said. |
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