Needle spiking on the rise in French nightclubs and concerts

It's on the rise.

Needle spiking is said to be on the rise in France after more than 300 people reported to have been pricked at nightclubs and concerts over the last few months. Doctors and multiple prosecutors are looking into the incidents but as of now, nobody knows who is behind this or why or if those affected have been injected with drugs or any other substance. Club owners are now trying to raise awareness of the issues, with a rapper even interrupting his show to warn the crowd about the risk of a surprise needle attack. The UK Government is also looking into the number of needle spiking that has taken place over the last year, with police in Belgium and the Netherlands also investigating incidents like this. People from Paris, Toulouse, Nantes, Nancy, Rennes, and other cities around France have reported being pricked with a needle without them knowing. Those being targetted are mostly women and show visible marks of injection, often appearing like bruises and report feeling groggy. France’s national police agency says 302 people have filed formal complaints about these incidents and there are currently several police investigations ongoing in different areas of the country. No suspect has been arrested yet and the motive remains unclear. No victims have reported sexual assault but one said he was robbed in Grenoble in April, according to Le Monde newspaper. Two people tested positive for GHB and they may have ingested it through a drink according to an official with the national police agency. GHB is a powerful anaesthetic used by predators seeking to sexually abuse victims and can be detected in the urine up to 12 hours after ingestion. The official and a doctor looking into this rise in cases have expressed doubt that the nightclub pricks contained GHB as it would need to be injected for several seconds, which most people would notice.