Needle spiking: Amsterdam authorities pledge rapid response to suspected druggings

The Amsterdam GGD and police have made agreements to respond immediately to any suspicions of drugging. If the police get a report of someone being drugged, a GGD doctor will immediately go to the police station for blood and urine tests, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema and alderman Shula Rijxman said in a letter to the city council, NOS reports.

The D66 asked the mayor and alderman about increased reports of people being drugged in the nightlife crowd. Halsema and Rijxman responded that they are aware of “signals from people who say they had drugs added to their drinks while going out.” They couldn’t say how many reports there were because the police don’t keep separate track of them.

The Amsterdam police have so far received two charges and five reports of needle spiking - people being drugged in crowds by someone who jabs them with a syringe. Most of the victims became unwell in the nightlife, but no evidence of drugs was found in their system, the mayor and alderman said.

To find evidence of drugs in blood or urine, it is imperative to test them quickly. That is why the GGD and police made agreements to improve this response. According to Halsema, at least one Amsterdam hospital is also working with the authorities to quickly take blood and urine samples after a suspected drugging.

The first person convicted of needle-spiking in the Netherlands was a 31-year-old man from Georgia. Multiple witnesses said they saw the man stab several people with a needle during the June edition of The Hague Outdoor dance festival in the Zuiderpark.

When he was detained, police found a hypodermic needle on him which contained substances found in cocaine, heroin, and cutting agents. One woman became dizzy and unwell, and quickly visited the first aid tent.

Medics found a red dot on her leg which they concluded was "almost certainly" a puncture hole. She was briefly hospitalized.

The suspect was charged only in the one case. He was convicted and sentenced to five months in prison in the first confirmed incident of needle spiking in the Netherlands.