Agents Make 13 Arrests, Seize $20K In Drugs During Bass Canyon Event

It was a busy weekend for multiple law enforcement agencies during the Bass Canyon concert at the Gorge Amphitheater in George.

Grant County's Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET), along with the Grant County Sheriff's Office, Moses Lake Police Department, the Washington State Patrol's Cannabis Eradication Team, and the Department of Homeland Security conducted numerous narcotics investigations during the event.

Grant County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Kyle Foreman says agents seized a wide variety of controlled substances during the three-day concert.

"The drugs that were seized included psilocybin mushrooms and LSD, Ketamine, Xanax, ecstasy, molly and cocaine, and cannabis. Detectives also seized DMT, which is Dimethyltryptamine, another psychedelic drug which distorts the users view of reality."

Foreman says detectives also intervened on numerous distributions of these substances and others.

"By the numbers there were fourteen separate investigations, thirteen arrests, twenty-nine felony drug distribution charges, one felony identity theft charge, and the street value of the seized drugs was around twenty-thousand dollars."

Foreman adds that law enforcement becomes more proactive with narcotics investigations during certain concerts which are known to draw more patrons who are a part of the illegal drug culture.

This year's arrests and seizures come on the heels of several overdoses at the Bass Canyon event at the Gorge in recent years, and a shooting that killed two and injured three at the venue in June where the suspect claimed that psychedelic mushrooms contributed to his violent behavior.

It's estimated that up to 25,000 people were at the Gorge's campground area during the Bass Canyon event, which is roughly equivalent to the entire population of the City of Moses Lake.

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