Sudbury police investigating spiked drink report

A Sudbury, Ont. woman is sounding the alarm after she said her drink was spiked at a downtown club over the weekend and now, police are investigating.

A post Cassandra Trudel put on social media Sunday night, warning people to never put their drink down in a bar, has more than 7,700 shares and 576 comments at the time of publication.

In it, she details how a night out dancing with her friend at Boulevard Nightclub – formerly known as SRO -- landed her in the hospital and possibly could have led to her becoming a victim of human trafficking.

"As my friend and I were dancing, two girls came onto the dance floor as well. As a (woman), I don’t generally think of other women as a threat, so I put my drink down on the ledge by the window, within arms reach (silly I know) and proceeded to dance," Trudel said in her social media post.

"One of the two women came up to my friend and I and started to chat with us. I believe this was the distraction mechanism to get me to turn my back while the other woman drugged my drink. When the girl went back to her friend, I grabbed my drink and had two sips of it. Within a couple minutes, I couldn’t stop sneezing, my nose started to run like crazy and my eyes were crying."

She said one of the women followed her to the bathroom when she went to go blow her nose, saying she thought she was having an allergic reaction to something as her eyes and throat were swelling fast and her right hand/arm started to feel numb.

"My instincts told me not to finish my drink, and I told my friend that I thought someone spiked my drink so I threw it in the garbage," Trudell said, adding her friend brought her to the hospital right away.

"The doctors believe I was drugged with date rape drugs and these two women were intending to human traffic me. I had a really bad allergic reaction to the drugs and the doctor told me that things could have been much worse if I had drank more than I did," she said.

Kaitlyn Dunn, a spokesperson for Greater Sudbury Police Service, told CTV News in an email the matter was reported and is currently under investigation.

Spiking someone's drink is illegal and considered a "crime against persons" offence, Dunn said.

She offered some personal safety tips:

• Always go out with people you know and trust
• Do not put down your drink or leave it unattended
• If you start feeling unwell, tell a friend and leave immediately with someone you trust
• If your symptoms get worse, attend the hospital or call 911 if it is an emergency

No other similiar incidents have been reported recently, Dunn added.

Boulevard Nightclub said in a social media post it is working on making the establishment safer for everyone.

"If you ever feel unsafe - please talk to our employees. We are here to help," the club said.

"If you don't want to or aren't ready to report to the police but you'd like to speak to someone about Human Trafficking, you can speak confidentially with Sudbury and Area Victim Services 705-522-6790."

It also said to call 911 in an emergency, 705-675-9171 for non-emergent reporting to Sudbury police, 705-222-8477 for Sudbury Crime Stoppers and 1-833-900-1010 for the Human Trafficking Hotline.

Some additional safety tips posted by the club include:

• Create a code word with friends to alert them of an uncomfortable situation
• Tell staff about any suspicious behaviour or people
• If receiving a drink, make sure the bartender directly gives it to you
• Share your location with close friends/family before you go out
• Trust your instincts, leave the situation if you feel uncomfortable

While you will often not be able to see, smell or taste a difference in your drink if it has been drugged, you will feel a difference, the nightclub said. Some signs that a drink has been spiked can include a change of colour, excessive bubbles or a cloudy appearance, it added.

Sudbury's Health Science North would not comment citing privacy reasons.