Security operation sees 26 people arrested on first day of Parklife Festival

The security operation at Parklife Festival was in full swing yesterday (11 June 2023) with 26 arrests made over the course of the day and into the evening.

The security operation at Parklife Festival was in full swing yesterday (10 June 2023) with 26 arrests made over the course of the day and into the evening.

The 26 were arrested on suspicion of a variety of offences including:

• 8 on suspicion of possession of illegal drugs
• 17 on suspicion of possession with intent to supply (1 was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article)
•  1 on suspicion of dangerous driving

In total 18 were taken into police custody whilst the remaining 8 were released and will subsequently be dealt with by other means.

Superintendent Phil Spurgeon, one of the leads for the policing operation at Parklife, said: "Greater Manchester Police has worked closely with partners over the past few months to ensure Parklife Festival has a robust security plan in place to protect the public.

"The drugs and weapon intercepted by security yesterday could have had fatal consequences and the detection demonstrates the importance of what we do.

"We want festival goers to look out for one another and to enjoy the event safely and I'm pleased to say yesterday the majority of people did just that.

"I also however want to remind the minority who are determined to spoil this festival for others that you will be arrested and held to account."