This past weekend, police arrested 38 attendees at the iconic Paradiso Festival held at the Gorge Amphitheater. Undercover police were busy as the weekend ended with a grand total of 97 felony charges. Officers apprehended LSD, molly, cocaine, and even a handgun. Due to the quantity of drugs found, charges have escalated from possession to dealing.
A spokesperson for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office name Kyle Foreman stated that around 20-25 investigators were working on the festival rounds. They were all undercover, and dressed as concertgoers to blend in. This tactic worked especially well in the campground areas to spot out suspected targets. Law enforcement officers deserve recognition after working diligently to remove circulating drugs.
“We’d like to think that we maybe saved someone’s life by them not ingesting one of those products.”
In the past five years or so, several festival-goers at Paradiso have fallen ill or even died from drugs. With the summer heat in full effect, many become dehydrated being outside all day. Unfortunately it never ends well when you combine drugs and a dehydrated, heat-exhausted body. Live Nation fully cooperates with law enforcement as always during these investigations.
Both Live Nation and local police warned attendees to “drink plenty of water and limit your drug intake”. The felons arrested knew undercover cops would be in full force. By any means, we appreciate the hard work law enforcement put in this past weekend. As far as we know, no one has died from drug related symptoms at Paradiso this year.
Stay safe this festival season!