An urgent warning to beware of spiking drinks has been issued after a concertgoer says she tested positive for a potent illegal drug the following day.
The woman believes she was dosed with the date-rape drug GHB by a stranger at the Fred Again concert at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney’s Olympic Park on Wednesday.
Now the woman’s sister has warned that young people were not taking drinking seriously enough and she urged local community sites to raise awareness.
‘My sister attended the Fred Again concert at Qudos Bank Arena last night and she got stabbed,’ she wrote online on Thursday.
‘She went for a blood test today and they found GHB in her system.’
She added: ‘Drinking is becoming more and more common and young adults and teenagers are not taking it seriously. An ambulance should have been called.
‘And it should have been immediately reported to the police to investigate. But no one talks about it properly or they blame the victim.
“Drink refills are the highest rate in New South Wales for five years, it’s serious and it needs to be talked about.”
An urgent warning for people to watch their drinks has been issued after a woman discovered an illegal drug in her system after attending a concert (stock image)
Fred Again performed three shows at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena this week
An attendee at the following night’s Fred Again concert told Daily Mail Australia they saw a young girl who appeared to be unconscious being carried out of the concert.
They said the girl, who was removed from the dance floor 10 minutes before the concert had even started, had struck them as ‘strange’ because the crowd was still calm.
“Although there was a lot of pre-loading going on outside before the concert so that could have been it,” the attendee said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qudos Bank Arena for comment.
Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found police recorded 220 incidents of food or drink tampering between July 2022 and June 2023 – a 20 per cent increase on the previous year and the highest rate in NSW for five years.
The State Government launched the Think Safe to Drink Safe campaign in response to the increased incidents of food and drink adulteration.
People were advised not to accept drinks from other people, but instead to buy their own and watch it being made by the bartender.
The advice also advised people to never leave their drinks unattended and to avoid batch drinks such as punch that have an unknown alcohol content.
It comes just months after former Bachelor star Monique Morley revealed she was left ‘practically paralyzed’ after her drink was spiked in the Caribbean.
The influencer, who appeared on the 2019 series of The Bachelor Australia, revealed that she was impaled in a bar in the middle of the day.
Former Bachelor star Monique Morley (pictured) revealed she was left ‘practically paralyzed’ after her drink was spiked in the Caribbean
There was hardly anyone in the bar except for another man who walked past her as she looked out to sea. Mrs Morley believes the man drugged her, despite her only looking away from her drink for five seconds.
‘My drink had only just been served and when I turned back to drink it I started to feel really strange – mostly in my legs. I asked my girlfriend if she felt the same and she said no,’ she told Yahoo News.
‘I said, ‘Hey, I think my drink has been spiked’. She asked how since we were the only people there but it must have been that guy.
Ms Morley said she was “practically paralysed” and was “violently ill” for hours and warned other women to remain vigilant.
“With the holidays coming up, everyone can be so careful when out and about, especially when traveling and abroad,” she wrote on Instagram.
‘Watch your drinks and always have someone you trust around you. You should also always listen to your gut and remove yourself from situations you don’t feel comfortable in.’
