In Kaatsheuvel, six people reported to a first aid post on Saturday evening, because they suspect that they had been stung or pricked. This is also known as ‘needle spiking’, a phenomenon where people say they have been drugged with a hypodermic needle while going out. Reports have been made about this in various countries lately, but much information is still missing. This is what we know so far about needle spiking.
Needle spiking is a phenomenon in which people are poked while going out and then feel dizzy or nauseous. Victims often have a strange spot somewhere on their body afterwards. The first reports of stinging while going out came from Great Britain in October last year. There are now more than a thousand reports.
Recently, reports have also been received from France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The NOS spoke to several women and men who went to the police to report that they had been stung while going out. Police stations also confirmed to the NOS that the problem may be bigger than is now known.
Now also in Brabant?
Needle spiking now seems to have reached our province as well. The incident of the six people happened on Saturday during festivities on Anton Pieckplein. One of the reporters is an 18-year-old woman who became unwell and was taken to hospital. In Helmond, some young people became unwell on Friday evening during the Minor Party. Rumor has it that they, too, were stung. The police see no reason to assume that this was the case.
Much is still unclear about the phenomenon. First of all, it is often not even proven whether someone has really been pricked with a needle. It’s also not clear who could be behind it and what’s in the jabs. In none of the cases has a suspect been arrested so far, not even abroad. It is also not clear how many victims have been made in the Netherlands.
Investigate police
The police are investigating all reports, but no foreign substance has been found in the blood of any of the reporters so far. So it could be that someone was not actually drugged with a hypodermic needle, but there are other possible explanations for this. For example, some substances, such as GHB, quickly disappear from your blood, making it difficult for victims to prove that they were drugged. And you also have to know what to test for, in order to find a certain substance, know Het Parool.
There are also many questions about how people are drugged with a needle. For example, perpetrators will probably have to smuggle in a needle. Then they have to put the needle in someone, inject the liquid into it and then take the needle out again. That will take a few seconds. And all this has to be done without anyone noticing.
Monkey sandwich?
In One today the phenomenon was also called a ‘classic sandwich monkey story’, because according to experts it would be very unlikely that people would be drugged in this way. For example, no evidence has been found in the blood of the thousands of victims from Great Britain. According to an expert from the Trimbos Institute, their complaints could also be caused by alcohol. “I’m not saying that needle spiking doesn’t happen, but it’s hard to tell apart,” said the expert.
much unclear
In short: there is still a lot of uncertainty about needle spiking. The police would therefore like to get in touch with people who have more information about the incidents and advise people who have become unwell to contact their GP.
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