Britain arrests 8 suspects over international network accused of drugging and sexually abusing women

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said today that eight people have been arrested as part of an investigation linked to an international network of men suspected of drugging women and then sexually abusing them.

According to the NCA, the British institution responsible for investigating international organized crime and serious criminal offenses, an internationally گستած network has been uncovered, made up mainly of men suspected of organizing sexual assaults on women after placing them under the influence of narcotic substances.

The investigation was launched after German journalists uncovered in 2025 an online forum where material and information related to these crimes were being circulated. Following this, the NCA was able to identify what it described as “an international network,” with members spread across dozens of countries and on every continent.

Investigative actions involving the platform, whose name has not been made public, led to the arrest of eight people in Britain. At the same time, 14 other investigations are underway both in the United Kingdom and in other countries.

Authorities have said that more than 270 people linked to this forum have so far been identified.

The case has once again brought attention to the story of Frenchwoman Gisèle Pélicot, who for many years was drugged by her husband, Dominique Pélicot. He then invited unknown men to rape her without her knowledge. After the trial of Dominique Pélicot, many similar cases have been uncovered in different European countries, mainly in Germany and the Netherlands.

“Drug-facilitated sexual assaults are no longer isolated incidents, but are becoming increasingly organized,” said Nigel Leary, deputy director of the NCA.

He further stressed that digital platforms are fueling this phenomenon and added that “the scale of this phenomenon that we have seen so far is deeply disturbing.”