Women across the UK say they're being spiked with needles in nightclubs, blacking out, and waking up with no recollection of what happened the night before, according to multiple reports.
Police in Nottinghamshire, West Yorkshire, and Scotland have all received reports of spiking with injections and are investigating the incidents, the BBC reported.
One 20-year-old man in Nottingham has been arrested and released on bail in connection to a report of a needle-spiking incident on October 16, Superintendent Kathryn Craner of Nottinghamshire Police told Insider.
Zara Owen, a first-year student at Nottingham University, told The Independent that she blacked out during a night out and woke up with a "pinprick" on her leg, which caused her "sharp and agonizing pain."
A 19-year-old in Nottingham - who did not want to be named - said she felt "a pinch on the back of her arm" before blacking out while also partying in Nottingham nightclub, her sister Ellie Simpson told the BBC.
"It's really frightening because I don't know how you're meant to prevent it," Simpson said, as per the BBC. "Obviously you can put your hand over your drink but how do you stop somebody stabbing you with a needle?"
It is unclear exactly how many cases there have been across the UK far, but the reported ones include:
*Nottingham University student Zara Owen believes she was spiked by injection while at the Pryzm nightclub in Nottingham on October 11, as per the BBC.
*Ellie Simpson, from Nottingham, said her 19-year-old sister believes she was injected during a night out at Stealth nightclub in Nottingham on October 12, as per The Times.
*Stealth nightclub in Nottingham confirmed to the BBC that it received two reports from customers who thought they may have been spiked by a needle in the last two weeks. It is unclear if one of these reports was Simpson's sister.
*West Yorkshire Police said it was investigating one case of spiking by injection reported in Leeds on October 13, as per the BBC.
*A Police Scotland spokesperson told Insider that police is investigating "a small number of reports" of spiking by needle injection in Edinburgh, Dundee, and Glasgow.
There have also been several other allegations by women on social media in cities including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Dundee, and Liverpool, although these remain unconfirmed, iNews reported.
Insider reached out to police in Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire for further information. It also contacted nightclubs Stealth and Pryzm.
But it's not just spiking by injection that seems to be a problem.
The Night Time Industry Association (NTIA) told the BBC it had seen a rise in drink-spiking throughout the UK as well, with some women reporting being spiked in pubs as well as nightclubs.
It is not clear how many women have reported being spiked via their drinks.
Charlotte, a third-year student at Leeds Conservatoire, told the BBC she collapsed and was "drifting in and out of consciousness" after being spiked in a pub in the city center.
The cases have prompted students at multiple universities to boycott nightclubs in their local area in an effort to make them do more to tackle spiking.
A Home Office source told Politico: "This is absolutely awful. We have asked for an update from the police on this and would encourage anyone to report this behavior to the police."
