The nightlife industry, for decades, has been used to dealing with the danger of drugs like burundanga, commonly used by rapists, thieves or abusers who took advantage of other people by putting these powders in their drinks. Beyond this terrible activity, another activity began in the United Kingdom that put the authorities on alert: the “puncture pandemic”.
Last October, several British women denounced this “fashion” after being victims or witnesses of it. It consists, neither more nor less, of injecting drugs into syringes while the people who have received the puncture are distracted. Clubs are the main focus, but there have also been cases on dates with people who had met through social networks. Most took place in university cities such as Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester or Newcastle.
Authorities thought the drugs used in these incidents were the same drugs used in the drinks, such as Rohypnol (roofie) or Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), also known as the date-rapist drugs. According to the Drink Aware organization, these injections can cause loss of balance, visual problems, nausea and vomiting, confusion, and loss of consciousness.
At first, they were isolated cases, but they spread to such an extent that they have reached other countries such as France, Belgium or the Netherlands. Between all these countries, more than a thousand reports have been made about these attacks.
In early May, the public prosecutor of the French city of Nantes, Renaud Gaudeul, told France Info radio that most of the victims are women between the ages of 18 and 24. “We have people reporting a pins-and-needles sensation and immediate symptoms: sleep, vomiting, loss of consciousness or memory gaps”said the prosecutor.
There are several open police investigations in different regions, but at the moment no suspect has been arrested, since the video surveillance cameras of the premises have not provided important clues either.
The Dutch town of Kaatsheuvel, in North Brabant, made headlines in the middle of last month because there were also victims of these punctures. Six women fell ill during a night out in a pub, and said the culprit was possibly a group of men who were close to them. In Belgium, on the same day, at a football match between KV Mechelen and Racing Genk. Fourteen people got sick there and claimed to have felt a gunshot.
There are many stories about alleged “prick-pandemic” incidents circulating on social media like TikTok. Videos in which women share their experiences with needles have tens of thousands of views, with comments mainly from women expressing concern about this form of drug use and fear of going to a nightclub.
“It is much more likely that those cases involved getting high through a drink, perhaps the victims were injured afterwards and later thought their injury was the result of a gunshot,” British drug investigator Guy Jones told NOS Stories.
For his part, David Baden, president of the Dutch Association of Emergency Medicine Physicians (NVSHA) explained the phenomenon in detail with Beau. He was skeptical about the feasibility of sticking with needles. According to him, the drugs are not suitable for injection at all. GHB, which is often used to drug others, gives a very painful, burning sensation when injected, he says. Also, it takes ten to fifteen seconds to inject someone with a drug. Therefore, it is not possible to administer a drug to someone with a needle, giving that person a short prick.
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