Project Medusa probe identifies 156 victims, perpetrators

Law enforcement agencies from nine countries have identified 156 victims and perpetrators as part of a major international investigation into organized drug-facilitated sexual assault, officials announced on Thursday, July 2. The operation, named Project Medusa, uncovered a global network of predominantly male offenders who use encrypted online platforms to plan, document, and normalize the drugging and assault of women, often by intimate partners.

The investigation was led by Germany and the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency (NCA), with coordination by Europol and participation from police forces in Brazil, Canada, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. From June 22 to 24, 29 investigators gathered at the NCA's London headquarters to compare intelligence, resulting in 274 new investigative leads and the discovery of four previously unknown misogynist online communities.

Officials described a network that operates across every continent, using encrypted messaging apps and private forums to trade accounts of abuse, reinforce behavior, arrange the sale of sedatives and narcotics, and coordinate assaults. Nigel Leary, deputy director of the NCA, said...