Drugs dug up at Creamfields site before festival opens
A stash of drugs has been unearthed at the Creamfields festival site in Daresbury, Cheshire, after police conducting routine pre-event sweeps discovered what appeared to be a buried rucksack packed with controlled substances. Officers are now urging whoever left it there to come forward — if they want it back.
What was found and where
Cheshire Constabulary officers found the bag during security checks of the grounds ahead of the four-day electronic music festival, which draws around 70,000 attendees each year. The rucksack was buried in a grassed area of the site, a tactic festival-goers sometimes use to smuggle substances past entry searches. Police haven’t disclosed the exact type or quantity of drugs recovered, but confirmed the find was significant enough to warrant a public appeal.
It’s not the first time this approach has been used at large-scale events. But it’s rare for police to publicly announce a discovery before the festival has even started.
Police appeal to the public
In a statement that raised more than a few eyebrows, officers said anyone who had buried a bag at the site should get in touch if they wanted it returned. That’s a strategy designed as much to gather intelligence as it is a genuine offer of reunion with someone’s lost property.
A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: “We’d encourage anyone who may have buried items at the site to contact us. We want to ensure the festival is a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone attending.”
Still, it’s hard to imagine many people rushing to claim a bag of drugs from the local constabulary.
The broader context of festival drug searches
Creamfields, held annually at Daresbury Hall near Warrington, is one of the UK’s biggest dance music festivals. It attracts headline acts from across the electronic music world and runs across the August bank holiday weekend. Security at the event is extensive — bag searches, sniffer dogs, and in recent years body scanners at entry points have all been deployed.
And yet, every year, people try to find ways around those checks. Burying contraband ahead of time — sometimes days before gates open — is a known workaround. Police and festival organisers have been wise to it for years, which is precisely why pre-event sweeps of the grounds are now standard practice.
In 2023, Cheshire Police made 47 drug-related arrests across the Creamfields weekend. That figure is expected to be closely watched again this year.
What happens next
The festival is set to open its gates shortly, with tens of thousands of fans expected to descend on the site. Police say patrols will be increased both inside and around the perimeter.
Anyone with information about the buried bag is being asked to contact Cheshire Constabulary directly. Officers won’t say whether CCTV footage from the site has already identified a suspect — but given the circumstances, it seems reasonable to assume the investigation is already well underway.
