It is not yet clear whether a young woman in a bar in Alkmaar was actually the victim of needle spiking last weekend; drying with a hypodermic needle. The young woman shared a message about this on Facebook and this caused some concerned reactions. Police are investigating, but have not yet found any concrete evidence of injuries from this incident.
Let’s go back to the night from Friday to Saturday in party café Bubbels on the Waagplein. The young woman writes on Facebook that she is out with friends when she suddenly becomes unwell.
112 is called and in the hospital cocaine and amphetamines are said to have been found in her blood. Her message includes a photo of her skin, which would show a circled hole. She concludes: ‘I too have become a victim of the new needle stick trend’. The message is widely shared on social media and people react anxiously.
What is needle spiking?
Recently, the police have received reports of a new ‘trend’ in nightlife; drying with a hypodermic needle. For example, the Amsterdam police received a letter in recent months ‘handful’ of notifications and fair visitors in Kaatsheuvel would also General Newspaper related to the phenomenon.
Needle spiking has come over from, among others, Great Britain, France and Belgium. Much is still unclear about the number of victims and with which substances they are injected.
The alleged victim writes that she has been on cardiac monitoring and respiration for hours as a precaution. “It ended well for me, but a warned person counts for two,” she continues.
Research
The police are investigating the alleged incident and let NH Nieuws know that camera images from the pub have been viewed to see what happened. As far as possible, this does not show that the victim is being pricked with anything. “We cannot associate it with needle spiking at this time,” the spokesperson said.
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So it all took place in Bubbles. The pub shared a message on Facebook the day after, indicating that porters and employees will search all visitors as a precaution. Bags and coats have already been checked, but visitors will be checked more thoroughly: “At the door, but also inside the Bubbles.”
Pub owner Gary van der Heul tells NH Nieuws that an extra security guard is also being deployed to check for suspicious situations in the pub. “We always do everything we can to make going out safe, but are now extra alert.” He also says that he has had contact with the alleged victim: “Fortunately, she is recovering, but of course it is an unpleasant situation,” he says.
Rumors
Last weekend the rumor mill in Alkmaar went fast: there were stories of two to four other victims who were hospitalized with the same symptoms. A spokesperson for Noordwest Hospital Group says that this is not the case.
In addition, sources reported earlier today to NH Nieuws that someone would have been arrested on Saturday evening because he was carrying needles. That rumor is also false, police said. Agents were alerted on Saturday because a man was associated with possible suspicious behavior by pub staff. The police let him go again because he “had nothing to do with it.”
NH Nieuws has tried to contact the alleged victim, but the woman in question indicates that she does not want to respond further.
Tomorrow NH Nieuws will speak with the Trimbos Institute about the phenomenon of needle spiking.
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