More than 150 victims and perpetrators have been identified in a large-scale investigation into so-called drug rape, reports the European police service Europol. In this form of abuse, victims are first intoxicated with drugs after which they are assaulted or raped.

Europol does not say what the distribution is between the 156 identified victims and perpetrators because of the ongoing investigations. The service does report that four new chat groups have also been discovered where misogyny is glorified. In addition, detectives have found numerous clues to more cases, which they will investigate.

The operation involved cooperation between police forces from Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, the United States and the Netherlands. The Rotterdam police from the Netherlands participated in the project. There is already an investigation into drug rape, for which several people have recently been arrested. These matters were not included in this Europol investigation.

The international investigation was conducted as part of what Europol calls Project Medusa. This partnership was established last April to tackle drug rape and to ensure better cooperation between international police services in this area.

Online chat groups or forums are mainly investigated, because the police services suspect that they play a major role in enabling and normalizing drug rape.

Images and experiences of these crimes are shared by perpetrators on online platforms or in chat groups, as well as tips on how best to drug victims. A trade in narcotics is also emerging online to make drug rape possible.

According to Europol, the victims are almost always women. The abuse often happens over a long period of time, sometimes for years. The perpetrators are often people who have a relationship of trust with the victim or who exercise power based on their position.

The police cannot yet say what exactly the new data analyzes have yielded in the Netherlands. The investigation into sexual abuse of drugged victims is still ongoing.