While police are adamant they will persist in their anti-drug operations at major music festivals, and as the debate about the safety of such operations, particularly when it comes to sniffer dogs, rages on, it didn’t do much to deter punters heading to a number of festivals in Sydney over the weekend.

Many punters took their chances despite previous warnings from NSW Police, who charged 209 punters across the Soundwave, Future Music, and Secret Garden festivals between Friday and Sunday. Three people were also taken to hospital, one in a serious condition, after attending the Future Music Sydney on Saturday.

As the Sydney Morning Herald reports, Future Sydney was held at Randwick Racecourse on Saturday, with a lineup featuring Drake, The Prodigy, and Hilltop Hoods. Police were out in full force, with a squad of around 200 officers patrolling the event, including a sniffer dog operation.

A spokesman from NSW Ambulance Service told Fairfax that one punter, suspected of being under the influence of a substance, was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition, and another two were transported with minor injuries. One was suspected of being under the influence, and another sustained an ankle injury.

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Meanwhile, 177 punters will face court after being caught possessing or supplying drugs, according to a NSW Police media release.

Despite the arrests, police expressed overall satisfaction with the 41,000-strong crowd. “Overall, the behaviour of the large crowd inside the venue was very good,” said Operation Commander, Superintendent Gavin Dengate.

The Sydney instalment of Soundwave Festival, which concluded its 2015 run over the weekend, also saw several punters nabbed on drug charges. As Fairfax reports, 16 people were charged with drug offences, including 15 charged with possessing an array of different drugs and one person charged with drug supply.

Police also hit up the Secret Garden Music Festival in Camden, charging 16 people with drug-related offences during a drug dog operation. According to a police media release, officers from Camden Local Area Command, the South West Metropolitan Region, and the Dog Unit conducted 163 person searches and 60 vehicle searches.

More than 2,500 people attended the event on Friday, with the same number attending on Saturday. Police made a total of 33 drug detections for substances including MDMA, cocaine, LSD, and cannabis. 16 people were served with field court attendance notices for a total of 23 charges, while 17 punters were issued cannabis cautions.

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