Police are investigating whether Mr Gallagher had used a cocktail of drugs - including cannabis and stimulants - and say "drug paraphernalia" was found in his car. David Gallagher, 24, was found dead at the Omega Festival in northern NSW. Credit:Facebook It is understood he had been at the dance with friends, who were checking on him as he stayed in the car throughout the event. They didn't realise he was dead until about 1pm on Sunday. Fairfax Media has been told Mr Gallagher was dead in his car about 200 metres from where hundreds were dancing near a stage. Police needed a crime scene warrant to get on the private property and worked on taking the man's body away and towing the car as the rave carried on.

Coffs Clarence Local Area Command crime manager Detective Inspector Darren Jameson said he had not seen anything like it in his 26 years of policing. David Gallagher was from the northern NSW town of Green Pigeon. Credit:Facebook "My concerns are these rave event organisers show no regard for the safety of people," Inspector Jameson said. "They need to be shut down and stopped. Evidence of their disregard shows how they failed to stop the event despite someone dying in front of them." A 25-year-old man has died at a rave after a suspected drug overdose in NSW North Coast. Credit:Getty Images

Mr Gallagher's aunt paid tribute to the young man on social media. "Sorry my dear nephew. I wish I had known you better," Kylie Warner wrote. The event, ticketed at $190 a pop, wrapped up on Monday afternoon. Police said about 2500 people attended. Originally, the Omega Festival was due to be held further north in Tabulam, west of Casino. Last week, police discovered the event was being set up on an Aboriginal reserve - known as Jubulum Village.

Police said the Land Council confirmed they had not given permission for the rave to be held there. The organisers were told last week there could be ramifications for trespassing if the festival went ahead. The organisers then sourced another location, about 200 kilometres south, at Newton Boyd. It appears considerable effort was made to keep the new location a secret, with organisers asking people not to post the new location on social media. "Despite our best efforts police have forced us from the property. We are left with no option but to relocate the festival," a post on the Omega Festival site stated on June 10. "Directions for the new site will be emailed to ticket buyers during this evening, please do not post the new directions to Facebook."

On Saturday, police received calls about unusually heavy traffic in the rural area around Blacksmith Shop Road at Newton Boyd and discovered the dance event's new home. Inspector Darren Jameson said the organisers didn't have an event management plan, risk assessment, evacuation or traffic plan. "They had two medical people on site at the event but I would consider them to be inappropriately trained and resourced for this type of event and amount of people," he said. The organisers have been contacted for comment. Inspector Jameson said it was common for rave organisers and attendees to try to keep the event location secret "because of the large quantity of drugs consumed" and to avoid detection.

"These backyard organisers don't care about young people, the environment or safety," he said. "All they see is these young novices with dollar signs on their foreheads." Raves or "bush doofs" have become a recurring issue for some regional areas with police and local councils working together to try to shut them down in recent years. Loading In Wee Jasper in south-west NSW last October, a 23-year-old was found dead at the Dragon Dreaming Festival.

Police at the time had tried to stop the festival from going ahead and made their objections clear to council.