'Incredibly dangerous' sex offender jailed - as police predict hundreds more victims

An "incredibly dangerous" sex offender who drugged his victims and installed spy cameras around his home has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years – as police appeal for hundreds more potential victims to come forward.

Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences Chinese national Chao Xu, 33, has been described by police as "one of the most prolific offenders ever uncovered" by the Metropolitan Police. Xu, who was a law postgraduate student at the University of Greenwich in London between 2015 and 2016, ran his own recruitment business and targeted victims at networking events at his home.

He invented his "Spring of Life" cocktail, a mix of alcohols and Chinese herbal medicines, to sedate guests, and planted spy cameras in items including air fresheners, sanitary packaging and speakers. Police found thousands of pictures and videos, with some showing unconscious or incapacitated victims in his flat in Greenwich, south-east London.

Xu, who is from China but is believed to have been living in the UK since 2013, also covertly filmed women on their daily commutes at stations such as London Bridge in so-called upskirting incidents. He pleaded guilty to 24 sex offences between 2021 and 2025 at Woolwich Crown Court in August relating to six victims, with two charges relating to a seventh woman left to lie on file.

Xu admitted four counts of rape, eight counts of assault by penetration, four counts of sexual assault, four counts of voyeurism, two counts of administering a substance with intent and two counts of operating equipment beneath the clothing of another without consent (commonly known as upskirting). 'Incredibly dangerous man' His Honour Judge Christopher Grout described Xu as an "incredibly dangerous man" who "took great enjoyment" from his offending.

"Your behaviour was calculated and planned, evidenced by the covert recording systems you had set up in your flats and the fact you had incapacitated a number of your victims by drugging them. "You betrayed the trust of a number of women who you befriended in the most appalling ways imaginable," he added.

Could be hundreds of victims Another 11 alleged victims have since come forward but the Metropolitan Police believe there are hundreds more in the UK and China, with offences committed in workplaces, public spaces and overseas. Acting Detective Superintendent Lewis Sanderson described Xu as one of the "most prolific" offenders the force has ever investigated, adding that his "crimes were calculated, sustained, and devastating".

Speaking outside the court on Friday, he said: "Chao Xu was a prolific and predatory sexual offender who committed some of the most cowardly and abhorrent crimes imaginable. His actions caused deep and lasting harm." "The number of victims of sexual assault, voyeurism and upskirting is believed to be in the hundreds.

This includes individuals filmed without consent in Xu's flat at his workplace and in public spaces. "That is why today I'm making a direct appeal.

If you believe you may have been a victim of Chao Xu, or if you have any information that could assist our investigation, please come forward. You will be listened to.

You will be believed and you will be supported." He said all of the sexual assault victims were Chinese women, aged between 18 and 30, while the voyeurism victims are also young females but of different ethnicities. He added that there will be women who may not know they are victims of his crimes, as they may have been drugged by Xu.

Detectives were alerted to Xu's crimes after he held a networking event in Greenwich in June. Read more from Sky News:Man admits to Summer camp attacksMurder investigation over girl's deathBurglar jailed over Banksy theft When one of the women who attended became unwell, Xu offered to let her stay, before raping her several times, the Metropolitan Police said.

They later found he had drugged her with substances known to cause drowsiness and incapacitation. The case included six million messages on WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging app, most of them in Mandarin, which all had to be checked with the help of a translator.

In a separate case in June, Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou was jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years after being found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China. His trial at Inner London Crown Court heard how he used the drug butanediol to render his victims unconscious, and how he used hidden cameras to record nine of his assaults..