LONDON: The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said Thursday eight people had been arrested as part of a probe into an international network of men drugging and sexually abusing women they know.
The alleged offenses were reminiscent of the high-profile case of Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot, who was drugged and raped by her then-husband and by strangers for nearly a decade.
Since the 2025 trial and conviction of her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, similar cases have come to light across Europe, from Germany to the Netherlands.
The NCA, which looks into international crime, said it had uncovered a global network of predominantly men suspected of similar offenses, known as organized drug-facilitated sexual assault, after a 2025 tip-off by German journalists about a platform used to facilitate them.
The crime agency found “a truly international network with group members identified in dozens of countries spanning every continent,” said NCA deputy director Nigel Leary.
