Sniffer dogs and bag searches can make drug danger at festivals more likely, Victorian coroner finds

Police, drug sniffer dogs, security guards and bag searches, can lead to riskier drug use and greater harms, a Victorian coroner has found. Photograph: Joe Castro/AAP

Police, security guards, bag searches, and sniffer dogs at music festivals can lead to riskier drug use and greater harms, a Victorian coroner who examined the death of a 28-year-old woman has found.

Trang Thi Thu Le collapsed, suffered seizures and went into cardiac arrest after consuming MDMA and ketamine at an electronic dance music event, Marlo Altitude, at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena in 2023.