Fear of rise in spiked drinks

THE Gold Coast Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence warns there has been a “resurgence” in drink spiking incidents across the city after a woman was found unconscious at Coolangatta.

The woman was rushed to hospital and placed in intensive care after her drink was spiked at a Coolangatta bar.

Police said the 28year-old model was drinking with friends at the Hotel Komune beach club on Friday night when she was offered a drink of what she believed was water just before midnight.

The woman told police she thought the offer was suspicious and she purchased her own water.

However, police said after midnight she rapidly deteriorated and had “an adverse reaction to an unknown substance”.

Around 3am, police patrolling the area found her unconscious on Marine Pde at Coolangatta.

Paramedics were called and the woman rushed to Tweed Hospital where she was placed in intensive care and later released.

Southern Investigative Group boss detective Senior Sergeant Marc Hogan said there were serious medical concerns for the woman.

“She was unconscious when police arrived and she is lucky she received medical attention so quickly or her injuries could have been significant and possibly permanent,” he said.

Detectives executed a search warrant at the resort, targeting a room at the hotel but have not yet found the drug used to spike her drink.

Police will also review CCTV footage from Komune.

Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence director Di Macleod said there had been a resurgence in the number of women coming forward to report suspected drink spiking.

“We are definitely noticing a resurgence,” Ms Macleod said. “This shows it can happen anywhere from night clubs to a more relaxed atmosphere.

“This is such a cowardly way to target vulnerable women.

“We have a lot of women who believe their drinks have been spiked.”