Man arrested after women report being ‘injected with needles’ in Nottingham

Police are investigating multiple reports of spikings


A man has been arrested as police are investigating reports of women being “injected with needles”.

Nottinghamshire Police have confirmed it is looking into multiple reports of people suspecting their drinks have been spiked, with some believed to have been “spiked physically”, the BBC reports.

Police Supt Kathryn Craner said: “We are currently investigating reports of individuals suspecting that their drinks have been spiked.

“Linked to this a small number of victims have said that they may have felt a scratching sensation as if someone may have spiked them physically. We do not believe that these are targeted incidents.

“They are distinctly different from anything we have seen previously as victims have disclosed a physical scratch type sensation before feeling very unwell.

“This is subtly different from feelings of intoxication through alcohol according to some victims.”

They said a 20-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of possession of class A and class B and cause [to] administer poison or noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve and annoy” following an incident 16 October. The man has now been released on bail.

In a further alleged incident, a 19-year-old student says she was injected as she left Nottingham’s Stealth nightclub last week.

Her sister told BBC News she was taken to hospital after she felt “pinch on the back of her arm” and blacked out.

She believes she was injected with an unknown liquid. Blood samples were taken at the hospital.

She said: “I don’t think it’s quite yet sunk in what’s happened to her.

“It’s really frightening because I don’t know how you’re meant to prevent it.

“Obviously you can put your hand over your drink but how do you stop somebody stabbing you with a needle?”

Stealth nightclub said it was “absolutely unacceptable” for women to live in fear of being spiked by needles on a night out, the BBC reports.

A spokesperson for the club told the BBC: “Here at Stealth, we have to date had two women who have reported feeling unwell and suspected they might have been spiked.

“Both were seen by our on-site medic, and we are currently liaising with police to aid in their investigations.”

The nightclub said reports of spiking were taken very seriously and staff would continue to carry out thorough searches and capture CCTV footage to aid police investigations. You can read a full statement from Stealth, regarding spiking in general, here.

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This is how you can tell if your drink has been spiked

Stock feature image via Unsplash