Since last winter, there are reports of women being drugged on nights out in the UK, France and Belgium. Now, the first case has also surfaced in the Netherlands.
Before, it was the roofy in the drink. Now, victims are being spiked with needles. 💉
Until recently there were no accounts of needle spiking known in the Netherlands. Now, a young Dutch woman talked to the NOS about her experience with needle spiking in November 2021.
A victim’s report
The NOS interviewed a victim of needle spiking, who reports being drugged in Amsterdam last November already. After just two mixed drinks, the young woman noticed the first symptoms.
She says: “I collapsed. I no longer understood what was happening around me.”
The first aid correspondent concluded she was drugged. Two days later, after noticing a mosquito-bite sized lump on her leg, the woman return to the GP.
Here, she was told that there was a good chance for the lump to stem from a needle. However, because no blood or urine test was made, there is no 100% certainty.
The police have confirmed the report, but also state that as of now, there is no conclusive evidence of needle spiking as a widespread phenomenon in the Netherlands.
First cases reported in the UK
In October 2021, the first cases of girls being drugged in nightclubs made headlines in the UK. Since then, over 1300 reports of needle spiking have been made in England alone.
Similar incidences were also recorded in Belgium and France, but it’s only recently that the crime has made its way to the Netherlands.
What to look out for?
Victims are spiked with a thin needle, commonly in the arm or leg. Soon after, they will feel dizzy, nauseous, experience memory loss, or become temporarily unconscious.
As an outsider, you might notice that someone seems disproportionately intoxicated in comparison with the amount of alcohol they’ve consumed.
In the video below, you can hear a first-hand account of needle spiking from a young woman who was drugged in Scotland.
Have you heard of needle spiking before? Do you know any first-hand accounts? Share them in the comments!