Oxbridge students ‘spiked with needles at ski resort’
STUDENTS have claimed they were spiked by needles or had a substance slipped into their drinks during the annual Oxbridge skiing trip.
Reports on social media suggest at least six students, including a man, were targeted last Thurday in the French Alps resort of Val Thorens.
Another incident was reported two days earlier.
Joe Hilton, co-president of the Varsity Trip ski holiday, has admitted the spikings may have been carried out by Oxbridge students.
He made the comment after it emerged that the incidents on Thursday at the ‘Slipped Disc’ club night happened before 1am – which is when the general public was allowed in.
One student told Cambridge University newspaper Varsity: ‘I
‘Feeling unsafe and terrified’
do not know why there is the presumption that Oxbridge students cannot spike people and it must be locals – this happened early on a student night.’
But another student wrote on Facebook that a ‘group of middleaged men with seemingly no relation to the Varsity Trip’ had been allowed into the club ‘with no pat-down search (which students were subjected to)’.
Another saw a ‘large crowd of what seemed like locals’ trying to get in through the back entrance to the club where there were no representatives from travel organiser Nuco present. The Varsity Trip – which was sold out with around 3,000 students booking places between December 3 and 11 – has a reputation for wild behaviour.
Both club nights where the spikings occurred were reportedly held at the popular Le Malaysia venue in the resort.
A student wrote on a social media group at 11.15pm on Thursday that their friend had ‘been spiked at Malaysia with a needle’, according to Varsity. Nuco posted warnings online, saying it has ‘increased door searches’.
But guests claimed a male student was spiked an hour later.
At 2am, Oxford law student Maeve Carroll wrote on Facebook: ‘There are now five girls we are aware of who have been spiked by injections/drinks tonight.
‘Nuco and security are aware but seem to be doing not much.’
Female students posted comments about feeling unsafe and ‘terrified’, with some reportedly ‘putting on long sleeve tops and coats to protect themselves’.
The two confirmed victims were removed from the club and looked after by Nuco. Mr Hilton said one had recovered but was ‘very shaken up’. He added none of the alleged incidents had so far been reported to the police.
He did not respond to a request to comment yesterday but previously said that in the future, there would be improved security and communication with clubs.
Nuco Travel said its staff had taken over entry to the venue after the reports of spikings and ‘aggressive’ door staff who turned away 200 people despite having tickets.
It added it was ‘deeply disturbed’ by the alleged events and had ‘submitted a formal complaint to the Malaysia night club around the conduct of their door staff’.
TripAdvisor reviews for La Malaysia include one user complaining of bouncers ‘turning a blind eye to women being assaulted’.