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LONDON – More than double the number of people were arrested at this year’s V Festival in Essex, England, the high-profile two-day music event that closed Sunday with a performance from Kings of Leon.
Local police said 114 arrests had been made over the weekend event as they cracked down on drug and other offenses. Influential British music paper NME noted that last year’s event saw 51 festival goers arrested.
Essex Police had mounted a pre-festival crime prevention campaign aiming to ward off criminal activity at this year’s festival, which also saw Beyonce, Calvin Harris, Rita Ora and most recent X Factor U.K. winner James Arthur hit the various stages.
A local newspaper reported that 22 of the arrests made were for drug-dealing, with the majority of arrests made after people were detected by sniffer dogs.
As of 11 p.m. on Sunday night, officers had made 75 arrests for drug possession, 22 for drug dealing, six for assault, one for disqualified driving, two for theft, two for rowdy and disorderly behavior, three for fraud and three for drunk driving, the report said.
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