Dutch police have arrested four men suspected of drugging and sexually assaulting several women, believed to be their partners, authorities said Thursday. The suspects allegedly filmed the abuse and shared the footage online.

During raids on the suspects' homes last week, police seized computers, mobile phones, USB sticks, as well as sedatives and weapons. Investigators are now analyzing the evidence to determine the number of victims.

"What is clear is that this is a case with an enormous impact," said Milou van der Kolk of the Rotterdam police Sexual Crimes Team. "The news that your partner or an acquaintance may have drugged you and perhaps even raped you or attempted to do so can turn your life completely upside down."

The suspects, aged 21 to 51 and from various parts of the Netherlands, were members of private social media groups where they discussed ways to sedate potential victims. Four other men are suspected of involvement, and further arrests are possible.

The case was uncovered thanks to tip-offs from German and British police, who discovered the private social media groups. "Information was being exchanged in them about how best to drug women — or rather, one's own partner — and then have sex with her," said Gerben Cabboort of the Special Sexual Violence Unit at Rotterdam police, describing it as a "new phenomenon."

The case echoes that of Gisele Pelicot, the French woman repeatedly drugged and raped by her husband over years. Dominique Pelicot was sentenced in 2024 to 20 years in prison, while 50 other men were also jailed.

Source: www.dw.com