When California Alcoholic Beverage Control agents went undercover at last weekend’s (July 12-14) 2013 Lightning in a Bottle music festival at Lake Skinner, they found it very easy to get their hands on illegal drugs, including: cocaine, LSD, ketamine, ecstasy, methamphetamine, marijuana, PCP and prescription meds.

The ABC agents, along with Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies and DEA agents, went undercover to catch people selling drugs at the event which drew about 15,000 people each day.  The agents expressed interest in buying illegal drugs and then busted those who supplied them.  Fifty-eight people, ranging in age from 18 to 45 years old, were arrested during the course of the event.

“ABC agents are often undercover at large venues like this one,” said Alan Barcelona, president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA).  ABC agents are members of CSLEA, along with nearly 7,000 other law enforcement, public safety and consumer protection professionals who work for the state of California.   “Local law enforcement agencies often call on ABC agents for their expertise in keeping large public events from becoming hot beds of criminal activity.

Most of the arrests were for the sales of a controlled substance.  One woman from Plano, Texas was arrested for vehicle theft.