A Sydney-based party company with a checkered history has had their second event in three months marred by drug use. As News Corp reports, two men were left fighting for their lives on Sunday after attending a Dirty Funken Beats event at Stradbroke Island on the Gold Coast.
A total of six people were rushed from a VIP party boat to shore just before 6pm Sunday evening. The victims, who allegedly ingested the drug liquid fantasy, included two men in their late 30s, who were taken to hospital in critical and serious conditions.
The incident mirrored the events of an April party organised by the same promoter. The Sydney company was issued with a rare closure order after four men nearly died overdosing on ecstasy during a Good Friday cruise on Sydney Harbour.
As Tone Deaf reported at the time, police shut down the Dirty Funken Beats cruise after receiving reports of punters “yelling and swearing” at those on shore. When the boat docked, two punters were arrested after a fight broke out.
The closure order prevented the company from operating for 72 hours while police investigated just what transpired. It was the first time police had ever issued an closure order of that kind. The Stradbroke Island party was the company’s comeback event after the April controversy.
Speaking to the Gold Coast Bulletin, one of the Stradbroke Island party attendees described two males and one female as being in a “paralysed” state towards the end of the festival. “I saw them being treated by maritime police and they were all quite paralysed,” he said.
“They got them out of there as fast as they could to be treated.” Meanwhile, Patrick Berry of the Queensland Ambulance Service said he feared for the victims due to the fatal history of the drug they are suspected of taking.
“There’s a concern with any recreational drug, we don’t know how much was taken or what the long-term affects are going to be and at this stage, the information is sketchy,” he said. “Two patients can’t speak, so there are concerns.”
However, as Perth Now notes, Dirty Funken Beats promoter Christian Avant has taken to social media to defend the event, saying the overdose cases are “devastating… because I care about the safety and wellbeing of every person that attends DFB”.
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Still, he maintains the mood of the event was overall positive. “What the media has failed to grasp was the love in the air, the ear to ear grins and the overall quality level of the event, something you could only understand by being front and centre with your hands in the air,” he wrote.
“We would like to wish all the best to the people involved and their families. We do not condone the use of illicit drugs at any of our events and all security are told to refuse entry to anyone they believe to be over-intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics.”
“We put a lot of hard work into the preparation… to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all attendees but unfortunately we do not have control over people’s decisions and their actions. We hold these events to share our love of the music and acknowledge the talent of our artists playing.”
“We hope that this incident doesn’t deter music lovers from attending our events in the future because anyone that was there on Sunday knew that this was the start of something. Truly amazing.” According to the Brisbane Times, Avant is already planning the next DFB event.
The Sydney music promoter promised fans there would be another event in October, with a “HUGE International headline act”, as police continue to investigate the Stradbroke Island overdoses.
