Police have launched an investigation into a spate of incidents in nightclubs where people have complained of being spiked by an injection.
A man in Nottinghamshire has been arrested and released on bail in connection with allegations of “physical” spikings at clubs, police confirmed.
Superintendent Kathryn Craner, of Nottinghamshire Police, 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. Consequently, we are actively investigating all these reports.”
She said a 20-year-old man was arrested “on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs and causing to be administered poison or noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve and annoy” following a report of an incident in Nottingham city centre on 16 October.
Separately, a 19-year-old woman reported being spiked in her arm as she left Stealth nightclub in the city on 12 October. She described feeling “a pinch on the back of her arm” before passing out and being taken to hospital.
The victim’s sister told the BBC this new form of attack was “frightening” and difficult to prevent. “Obviously you can put your hand over your drink but how do you stop somebody stabbing you with a needle?” she said.
Another woman reported on social media how she woke up after a night out in Nottingham with “almost zero recollection from that night” and a “sharp agonising pain in my leg” as well as an apparent pinprick.
She said she visited A&E but left “after eight hours of only having a triage and background info taken”.
Police said they did not believe these incidents were targeted at particular individuals, but added: “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.”
Officers have been examining CCTV footage at venues where the incidents were reported and are working on the investigation with licensed premises, the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham City Council and East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Similar allegations have been made by women who say they were spiked “by injection” in nightclubs elsewhere in the UK.
Social media posts from the past two weeks contain claims of incidents in clubs in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Dundee and Liverpool.
The group Edinburgh Anonymous said it had “multiple reports” of students being “spiked by injection in Edinburgh clubs leaving a small red bump on their back”, with people displaying symptoms “similar to those when spiked by a pill e.g. suddenly feeling drunk, drowsy or nauseous.”
