Seven people are arrested over death of British tourist who was forced to drink 22 shots at Polish strip club that ‘drugged and robbed customers’
- Mark Cocks, 36, died of alcohol poisoning in 2017 after being plied with 22 shots
- Now, Polish police have arrested seven people in Poland over the Briton’s death
Seven people have been arrested in Poland over the death of a British tourist who was forced to drink 22 shots in just 90 minutes during a visit to a Polish strip club.
Mark Cocks, 36, died of alcohol poisoning in 2017 after being plied with scores of shots at the Wild Night club in Krakow.
Now Polish cops have arrested those they think were part of an organised crime gang behind a series of deaths of foreigners who were allegedly drugged and robbed at the notorious club.
Cocks, a Leeds United fan from Loftus in Teeside, Yorkshire, had been ‘lured’ into the club with a friend.
Cocks, who was already drunk when he arrived at the strip club, was plied with nearly two dozen powerful shots before he collapsed and later died.
After he collapsed, staff at the club robbed him of PLN 2,200 (£420) in cash, according to the Polish authorities.
Mark Cocks, 36, (pictured) died of alcohol poisoning in 2017 after being plied with scores of shots at the Wild Night club in Krakow
Picture shows police with one of the suspects, undated. Police raided night clubs and arrested suspects during an investigation of an organised criminal group extorting money from customers of nightclubs after a British man died of alcohol poisoning
Picture shows police with one of the suspects, undated
Polish prosecutors said the victim had been ‘led into a deep state of intoxication combined with loss of consciousness’.
They added: ‘Acute poisoning with ethyl alcohol led to the concentration in the victim’s body and urine, as a result of which the man died.
‘Mark C. came to Krakow with his friend for tourist purposes. The men were tempted by the free entry to the premises offered by the ‘beater’.
‘After entering the club at 4 pm, the men were separated and Mark C. was taken to the so-called a private room.
‘Then, between 4.28 pm and 6.08 pm, despite the already visible and significant state of intoxication and despite his attempts to refuse to consume alcohol, the club staff gave the victim unordered 22 portions of high-proof alcohol.’
The seven people who have now been arrested for being part of an organised criminal gang also emptied Cocks’ bank account.
Prosecutors said: ‘The staff deprived him not only of money, but above all of his life.’
MailOnline has contacted the UK Foreign Office for comment.
The arrests come after four other club employees, three women and a man were also arrested.
The club was raided last year along with 20 others nationwide in a crackdown following widespread complaints from ripped off customers who said they had been ‘drugged and robbed’.
Footage released by Polish police showed how officers stormed the club, apprehending suspects and confiscating computers, cash and phones.
In the same year as Cocks’s death, a Turkish man also died in a strip bar owned by the same company in Wrocław after downing five drinks in 20 minutes.
When he refused to drink any more, CCTV footage shows that a dancer forcibly poured two more glasses into his mouth.
The man collapsed to the floor, and eventually stopped breathing.
Meanwhile, a Scottish man said he popped into the Krakow joint for a beer and, after backing out, found his credit card had been stripped of nearly £1,000.
A GV of the building in Krakow’s Old Town that used to host the fraudulent Wild Nights club
Polish police are seen arresting one suspect in this bodycam footage
The Polish Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBSP) said in a statement that they have filed over 700 criminal charges against the organised criminal group.
They said the clubs ran a racket where they systematically got punters drunk before robbing them.
Some were even persuaded to take out loans to cover ‘debts’ run up by the fraudsters.
Authorities this week said they had finally arrested the group who forced Mark to drink himself to death.
They also said: ‘The man was not given medical assistance during the incident. Provisional arrests were made against those suspected of this act.’
The investigators also said that ‘CBSP police officers detained another seven people suspected of robberies and fraud on customers of go-go-clubs.
‘There are already 58 suspects in the case.’
Picture shows the monitoring centre in one of the strip clubs, undated
The statement also said: ‘The officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police are conducting an investigation into an organised criminal group extorting money from customers of go-go nightclubs.
‘According to the findings of the investigators, the activities of the group were aimed at committing crimes to the detriment of club customers by leading them to a state of deprivation of awareness and perception […].
‘The perpetrators, taking advantage of the mental and physical condition of the victims, made payment transactions using payment cards or other financial instruments for goods and services allegedly offered in the club.
‘In some cases, through electronic banking, on devices owned by customers, loans were also allowed to be taken or deposits or savings accounts were closed, and the funds accumulated there were transferred to the accounts of companies operating clubs.’
The statement continued: ‘To the persons detained during the recent activities, the Prosecutor presented allegations of participation in an organised crime group, committing robberies and fraud to the detriment of clients of clubs from Krakow and Warsaw, among other charges. They include e.g. leading or participating in an organized criminal group.
‘In the case, 31 arrests were also applied, property sureties in the amount of almost PLN 1.6 million [GBP 305,000] and property with a total value of over PLN 6.8 million [GBP 1.3] was secured,’ the statement concluded.
Source: Read Full Article
