Drugged, robbed & dumped in alleys… inside the MALE spiking epidemic with 500,000 UK victims as grieving dad speaks out

IT takes just seconds for a clear, odourless and tasteless liquid to be dropped into the victim’s drink. He downs his pint and staggers out the pub door – followed by a hooded figure who waits for him to collapse in a backstreet, before stealing all the man’s belongings. Colin Mackie has been campaigning to highlight the problem since his son Greg’s death Credit: Collect The Met Police found a container full of bottles of GBL which is used for spiking Credit: Supplied Spiking is when someones drink is laced with drugs or alcohol they didn’t consent to Credit: Getty Ahoor Ramabark Fathi was jailed for 12 years after 2,000 litres of “date-rape drug” GBL was found in his storage container Credit: PA Welcome to Britain’s male spiking crisis where almost half a million men believe their drinks were laced with drugs. Spiking has long been linked to vulnerable women who are then sexually assaulted but figures reveal that men are just as likely to be targets. Government figures revealed five per cent of men believe they have been spiked. Cops last month welcomed a 12 year jail term for one of the biggest ever seizures of GBL, worth £2.2million – saving hundreds of thousands of victims from being spiked. And experts believe the drug could be involved in far more deaths than recorded. Colin Mackie, who lost his son Greg, 18, to spiking in 2017, runs Spike Aware and says they now get more calls than ever from men who have been targeted. “Everyone always thinks it happens to girls, but spiking has got legs and anyone can be a victim,” he said. “It can happen for so many reasons, not just sexual assault. A big one now is theft and one of the big risk areas is your mobile phone using facial recognition or thumbprint. “If someone spikes you, they can use your face or fingers to get access to everything, including your bank accounts. “But one of the most common things we hear is people doing it as a prank and nothing happening. But it’s not funny. “One lad rang me who had been spiked and someone had deleted all the photos of his phone but done nothing else. It had to be someone who knew him. “Our aim is to make spiking as taboo as drink driving, so people feel the pressure not to put something in someone’s drink as a joke or to liven them up. Greg Mackie died after his soft drink was spiked with ecstasy while in his uni halls Credit: Spike Aware UK/STV News “People will now report others drink driving, and that’s what we want them to do if they see someone being spiked. Tell someone. That’s the best way to keep everyone safe.” Greg, from Moffatt, Dumfriesshire, died after his soft-drink was spiked with the equivalent of five ecstasy tablets while in his Edinburgh university halls. The most recent report on spiking by Drinkaware and Anglia Ruskin University found close to an even split between women and men being spiked – with nearly a million adults believing they’d had their drinks laced with drugs. It also found the majority of incidents happened in pubs and clubs – although 15 per cent of those surveyed had been spiked in a domestic setting. Traditionally, spiking has been opportunistic with recreational drugs being dropped into drinks, or in sexual assault cases, rohypnol was often used. But now, gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) is becoming more common in the nighttime economy as it’s tasteless, odorless and colourless. Dawn Dines from Stamp Out Spiking told The Sun: “We understand GBL is a drug of choice for people spiking drinks, as evidenced by the people contacting Stamp Out Spiking with their experiences and with such a huge haul of GBL being found by the police.” Cops fear that it might be causing more deaths than anyone realises as it doesn’t take much to overdose a victim. “GBL is the most dangerous substance that we encounter,” said Eoin Bradley, a trained nurse and Metropolitan Police’s lead officer for chemsex cases. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in the intoxicant phase or within its withdrawal phase, both are life-threatening. I think it’s safe to say we don’t know the number of deaths linked to GBL. Serial killer Stephen Port killed four victims by giving them an overdose of GBL Credit: PA:Press Association Metropolitan Police found a vial containing GBL next to the body of Anthony Walgate who was one of Port’s victims Credit: PA:Press Association Reynhard Sinaga, Britain’s most prolific rapist, also used GBL to carry out his horrific attacks Credit: PA He took his victims back to his city centre apartment before drugging and sexually assaulting them Credit: PA “There is a miniscule difference between a recreational dose and then one that is life-threatening. “It’s almost impossible to determine at the point of an autopsy report to see if someone has died from a GBL overdose as it removes itself from the body so quickly. “There’s no defined amount where someone could say, yes this death is caused by a GBL overdose.” GBL, which is also known as Liquid E and Gina, takes less than 15 mins to kick in and can leave people knocked out for four hours when used as a sedative. Once taken, the chemical is changed in the body to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), which when taken recreationally can cause euphoria, increased sex drive and in some cases hallucinations. Detective Superintendent Daniel Thompson said: “Spiking is often opportunistic so people will use whatever recreational drugs they have with them. “There’s a common misconception that GBL is just used for chemsex (where people use drugs to enhance sexual gratification). It is actually being used in spiking in the night time economy too.” As of April this year, spiking became a specific criminal offence under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 and carries up to a ten year prison sentence. Cops found a handgun when searching Fathi’s properties Credit: Supplied They also found £100,000 in cash plus nearly half a kilo of crystal meth, a Class A drug Credit: Supplied Met of Detective Superintendent Daniel Thompson has seen a rise in GBL in the nighttime economy Credit: Supplied Signs of being spiked DAWN Dines from Stamp Out Spiking breaks down what signs to look for if you think someone has been spiked. She said: “After decades of speaking to male and female victims of these invisible crimes, we at Stamp Out Spiking understand what the most common signs and symptoms are. “For example, when someone has been spiked, they may suddenly seem much more intoxicated than expected after drinking only a small amount of alcohol, or even none at all. “They may experience lowered inhibitions, difficulty concentrating or speaking, problems with balance, loss of coordination, or find it hard to move. “Other common signs can include blurred vision, confusion or disorientation, memory loss or blackouts, paranoia, hallucinations, or feeling as though they are having an “out of body” experience. “Some people may also experience sudden body temperature changes, such as sweating or chattering teeth, alongside nausea and vomiting. In more serious cases, someone may have difficulty breathing, lose control of their bowel or bladder, or become unconscious. “The repercussions on day to day life following this can be devastating.” If you think you’ve been spiked visit Stamp Out Spiking or Spike Aware UK for support. The Met found that spiking increased 23 per cent year on year between 2024 and 2025, and there is a team of proactive officers working to get drugs off the street before they’re used. And in the last 12 months to 30th June, there were over 2,700 spiking offences recorded by the Met Police, with more than half relating to drink spiking. In a win for the Met’s fight against spiking, they’ve taken millions of doses of GBL off the street and last month supplier Ahoor Ramabark Fathi, 61, was jailed for 12 years on a variety of drug charges. Cops believe the 2,256 litres of the dangerous chemical recovered, which is thought to have been transported from Manchester, will help keep Londoners safe. They also found a handgun, £100,000, and almost half a kilo of crystal meth. Detective Constable Eoghan O’Neill, from Specialist Crime, said: “When you’re dealing with such high values of drugs, such large amounts of money, such large amounts of drugs, there’s inevitably going to be an organised crime element involved. “And the finding of the gun is just that reminder that it doesn’t matter what the drug, you’re always just a small degree of separation away from serious violence.” The drug has been at the centre of high profile cases, including being used by Britain’s most prolific rapist Reynhard Sinaga, 43, who is thought to have abused 206 victims. He was caged in 2020 after being found guilty of 159 sex offences, including 136 rapes, and handed 40 years in prison upon appeal. Sinaga is believed to have used GBL, which cost as little as £1, to drug his victims before the assaults. It was also used by serial killer Stephen Port, 51, who administered fatal doses of GBL to all four of his murder victims. He also used the drug to rape and sexually assault a further 11 men who were raped or sexually assaulted by him. Police are keen for anyone who believes they have been spiked with GBL, either while out or during chemsex, to come forward and get help. DC O’Neill said: “People can often be reluctant to come forward about making allegations of serious sexual offending or whatever, because they’re worried that they’ve been taking illegal drugs. “We are absolutely not there to go after people who are using drugs recreationally in a consensual environment. “We’re not there to demonise or criminalise people who are taking small amounts of recreational drugs in their own personal lives.” An National Police Chief Council spokesperson said: “Spiking can have a significant, traumatic impact on victims and feelings of safety. It is also a complex offence to investigate as drugs can pass through the system quickly and there is often a lack of evidential opportunities, making early reporting and forensic testing even more crucial. “We are aware spiking remains significantly underreported and we would encourage anyone who is a victim of spiking to report it to the police as soon as possible, even if you are unsure. If something doesn’t feel right then come forward and tell us, so we can investigate and take steps to prevent further incidents. You will be listened to, and you will be taken seriously.”