Lap dancing club ‘drugged and fleeced its customers’

A LAP dancing club allegedly spiked customers’ drinks and then overcharged them for dances by £93,000 a Trading Standards report has found.

One customer at Birmingham’s Legs 11 lap dancing bar was so worried their drink had been spiked after £9,000 was charged to their credit card that they bought a home drugs kit, which tested positive for methadone.

A joint police and licensing report into alleged “serious criminality” at the club also revealed that undercover Trading Standards officers “were offered sexual services” in a locked “VIP room” for £1,000.

CCTV footage from inside the Broad Street club showed dancers “gyrating” against a customer’s body, “whipping him in his crotch area” with his belt, and “holding his nose ... as if to restrict his breathing”, Trading Standards officers reported.

West Midlands Police also reported that “intelligence checks” had indicated a link to “organised crime groups from Albania”. The Birmingham City Council report recommended suspending the club’s licence.

West Midlands Police said they were investigating financial “irregularities” where “large volumes of money were being taken from people’s accounts”.

Superintendent Andrew Parsons said that there had been 17 separate allegations going back to 2013, totalling £93,042. One customer claimed £19,400 was put through on their credit card without their knowledge.

He added that the club’s own CCTV footage “appeared to corroborate previous reports that the dancers were getting the males very drunk and then getting them to use their credit cards”.

A company linked to the premises’ card transactions found £1.6 million had been “credited” to the firm since January.

The police report concluded: “These premises are involved in serious criminality and serious offences are being committed at the premises.”