A British holidaymaker died of alcohol poisoning after being given 22 shots in just 90 minutes on a visit to a Polish strip club, it has emerged.
The victim, named only as 36-year-old Mark C. due to local privacy laws, was already drunk when he arrived with a pal at the Wild Night club in Krakow.
But despite trying to refuse drinks, investigators said he 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.
MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.
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
Holidaymaker Mark was in Poland as a tourist with his pal, who has not been named, and the pair were allegedly lured into the club by an offer of free entry.
Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office says that he had a lethal blood-alcohol content of at least 4 per mille at the time of his death.
Polish media said that Mark died in March, before local police declared on April 13 that they had charged 58 people with being part of an organised crime group amid a raid on the Wild Night club, among others.
Footage released by Polish police showed how officers stormed the club, apprehending suspects and confiscating computers, cash and phones.
The Polish Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBSP) said in a statement that they have filed over 700 criminal charges against the 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 arrested the group who forced Mark to drink himself to death.
‘One of the leads investigated by the investigators in the case concerns the victim who was driven to a state of intoxication, causing loss of consciousness, and then death as a result of acute alcohol poisoning,’ their statement read.
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.’
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
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.
The investigation is ongoing.
