30 arrested in counter-drug op during Paradiso Festival at Gorge

QUINCY — Thirty people were arrested in a counter-drug operation at the annual Paradiso Festival in mid-June.

The operation took place over the course of the two-day music festival June 15-16, according to information released recently. Paradiso is an annual music festival that annually draws thousands of EDM (Electronic Dance Music) fans out to the Gorge Amphitheatre.

The joint effort involved Grant County’s Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET), the Quincy Police Department, the Washington State Patrol, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the LEAD Task Force and Live Nation, which is the company that manages the Gorge Amphitheatre. Paradiso has long been an area of concern for law enforcement officials with regard to drug deals and drug use. In 2015 a 22-year-old Portland, Ore. man died as a result of an accidental drug overdose at the festival and over the years there have been several hospitalizations from drug use.

“The effort helped make Paradiso 2018 a safer place,” stated the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

A total of 30 people were arrested during the operation, which led to 80-plus criminal charges filed and the seizure of 2,000 Molly (ecstasy) pills, cocaine, LSD, ketamine and mushrooms.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.