Police in Spain are investigating about 50 cases of women being pricked with medical needles at nightclubs or parties, a trend that first came to public attention. authorities in other European countries,
So far, Spanish police have not confirmed any cases of sexual assault or robbery related to the mysterious jabs. Police said 23 of the most recently reported needle attacks were in the Catalonia region of northeastern Spain, which borders France.
Waves of needle-pricking nightclubs and concerts have also confused authorities in France, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands. French police have collated more than 400 reports in recent months, and have said the motive for the jabs was unclear. In many cases, it was not even clear whether the victims had been injected with a substance.
Spanish police have so far found evidence of drugs in one victim, a 13-year-old girl in the northern city of Gijón, who had party drug ecstasy in her system. Local media reported that the girl was immediately taken to the hospital by her parents, who were with her when she felt a sharp prick.
In an interview with national public broadcaster TVE, which aired on Wednesday, Spanish Justice Minister Pilar Lope urged anyone who thinks he has had a shot without his consent to go to the police, because of being stabbed. “Violence against women is a serious act.”
Spanish health officials said they were updating their protocols to improve their ability to detect any substances that may have been injected into victims. Toxicological screening protocols call for blood or urine tests within 12 hours of a suspected attack, Lopp said.
The guidelines advise victims to immediately call emergency services and go to a health center as soon as possible.
In south-west France, a flurry of needle attacks were reported during the Bayonne festival, which was attended by about 1.2 million people last week in a city near the Spanish border.
Bayonne’s deputy prosecutor Carolyn Parizell said 124 people underwent medical examinations after being reported of possible needle attacks. These included both men and women. Eleven filed legal complaints.
Last month, the French prosecutor 20 year old man accused In connection with the Sui attacks in southern France.
Cases of needle pricks were reported in Britain in 2021. In November, 19-year-old British student Sarah Buckley told CBS News She was clubbing with her friends when something went terribly wrong.
“Apparently I started screaming and then fainted and came back, and it was just such a horrible cycle,” Buckley told CBS News. “My friends, at this point, can tell: ‘No, something is really, really wrong… He doesn’t have much to drink. It’s something completely different,'” Buckley said.
Her friends took her to the hospital, where she woke up the next morning and could not remember what had happened the night before. His hand was throbbing, and a needle prick-like bruise was developing in the middle.
“When I talked to the police, they also found it very strange, and a scientist working with the police looked up and said, ‘Well, this definitely looks like a needle prick.
