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Police investigating “bad batch of drugs” after death at Warehouse Project event

By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 30 September 2013

Police investigating the death of a man who died at a Warehouse Project night in Manchester on Friday are said to be considering the theory that a “bad batch of drugs” could be the cause. Five other clubbers were also hospitalised after taking a drug, thought to be ecstasy.

Commenting on the incident, Det Insp Aaron Duggan told reporters: “It is possible that there may be a particularly bad batch of drugs out there in the community and that is a concern to us. If you attended The Warehouse Project [this weekend] and are feeling unwell, I would ask you to go to hospital for a check up as soon as possible”.

Meanwhile a spokesman for the Warehouse Project said: “Everyone at The Warehouse Project is devastated about the news and our condolences are with [the dead man’s] family. We are assisting the police with their ongoing inquiries surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death. The Warehouse Project operates a zero tolerance policy with regards to drugs, however if you have taken something and start to feel unwell please tell a member of staff”.

Beyond the tragedy of Friday night’s Warehouse Project event, it is interesting how industry and business media in the US have recently taken an interest in drug-related fatalities at EDM events, including this one and the recent deaths at the Electric Zoo event in New York, presumably in light of the ongoing commercialisation of dance music Stateside and the upcoming IPO of SFX Entertainment.

Indeed, SFX notes the press interest in its recent IPO filing and admits such coverage could have negative impact on commercial dance music enterprises, especially where brand partnerships are a key revenue stream. Though, and despite occasional tragic incidents like on Friday night, European EDM promoters would likely say this is a side of their business they have generally learned to deal with.