Welcome to ‘stag do capital’ where Brits are spiked, scammed & left to die by ‘licky licky men’ using strippers as bait
THE smiling girl outside had promised a cheap pint and a “relaxed and fun club” with music and Pole dancing girls, literally in this case.
But I had only been inside a pole dancing club in Krakow’s old town for a few minutes when the atmosphere turned ugly.
A powerfully built stripper in a G-string, who had forced herself beside me on a faux leather couch, was in my face and yelling: “What do you mean you don’t want to go to the VIP room for a private dance?
“What is wrong with you? Are you poor? Why don’t you want a dance?
“Us girls are here to work. You can’t just sit here and drink a beer. You have to pay for a private dance or you have to leave.
“So go. Leave. F*** off.”
Despite the barrage of abuse I held firm, insisting I was entitled to finish my drink as I squirmed in the gloomy basement.
But the situation threatened to get really nasty when the same lap dancer caught my photographer colleague Andy trying to take a picture.
Grabbing his iPhone, she deleted all the images showing the interior of the club then forced him to use face ID so she could remove the remnants from his recently deleted folder.
I pointed out that moments earlier she had been showing me photos of a naked man taken at a life drawing class.
“That is different,” she retorted. “I took those photos with his permission. You do not have permission to do that here and it is forbidden.”
Welcome to Krakow, Poland’s second biggest city that is home to some of Eastern Europe’s most beautiful architecture and sumptuous restaurants – perfect for a bargain break with low-cost return flights this autumn costing just £30.
But Krakow is also has a sleazy nightclub scene, tailored to boozed-up Brits.
Two years ago, it became the focus of a huge police crackdown following what was dubbed an epidemic of drink spiking incidents.
A total of 20 strip club workers including dancers and waitresses were arrested in 2023 and accused of extortion and being part of an organised crime group.
Victims described a “well-oiled machine” with a production line of “attractive” women luring men past the neon signs into the various clubs.
Rich Howells, 35, was one of those targeted. He alleged he was drugged, robbed of all his possessions then “left for dead” in the street after visiting a strip club.
His ordeal began when he was handed a shot that made him “feel a bit strange”.
Rich, from Edinburgh, said: “The next thing I remember was that I was on the floor unconscious on the street about three hours later, with two police officers above me shouting at me in Polish.
“I was covered in vomit and blood, I had a laceration to my head, and I couldn’t speak. I physically couldn’t move my mouth.”
Another disturbing episode took place in 2017 when British tourist Mark Cocks, 36, died after being force-fed 22 shots in just 90 minutes at the city’s Wild Night Club.
He was allegedly robbed of £420 on the same night.
And the internet is awash with tales of people who have been taken to the cleaners through unauthorised charges at Krakow clubs.
When the Sun visited in October our research took a disturbing twist as we probed deeper into the centre’s seedy underbelly.
Over the course of the weekend, we were offered Class A drugs on the main square and full sex with prostitutes at lap dancing clubs and one massage parlour.
A stripper at one venue claimed she had been instructed to force shots of tequila on unsuspecting punters including me.
Meanwhile, a small army of touts prowled the cobbled streets trying to lure inebriated lads into the numerous gentlemen’s clubs.
‘COVERED IN BLOOD’
Back in the club and before I could make my excuses and leave, I was approached by another working girl, this one a waif-like Eastern European with sunbed tanned skin and peroxide blonde hair.
Softly spoken and seemingly shy despite her profession, my heart went out to her as she gave a monotone and incredibly graphic guide to what 800 zloty – roughly £165 – would pay for in a private room.
Telling me her name was Tattiana, she said in a strongly Eastern European – possibly Ukrainian – accent: “I will be naked and you can be naked too. I will touch you and you can touch me. You can do anything you want in the private room.”
Declining the offer, I scanned the room as I headed for the exit sign. I noticed that the half dozen male visitors scattered around the silver dancing pole at the club’s centre were paralytic with booze.
I was covered in vomit and blood, I had a laceration to my head, and I couldn’t speak. I physically couldn’t move my mouth
Rich Howells
One man could barely stand upright as he staggered in the direction of the bar.
It made me wonder how many zloty he would part with before his evening was through.
At the next strip club, I was swiftly approached by a beaming blonde who looked much like an AI creation with her pouty lips and free flowing hair extensions.
Introducing herself as Olivia, she was similarly determined to get me into the so-called VIP room.
SPIKING FEARS
Whispering in my ear, she said: “You can do anything you want in there. We can have full sex. What are your fantasies? Tell me what you like, baby.”
I was nursing another drink costing 25 zloty, the equivalent of £4, but without prompting Olivia produced two long shot glasses full to the rim with an off-white liquid, which gave off the familiar scent of tequila.
“Drink with me,” she said.
I declined, explaining that I was fearful of being spiked.
She replied: “OK, I will drink the shot and you pretend to drink it with me. The cameras are watching us.”
True to her word, she downed the shot and handed me the empty glass, at which point I tipped a barrel of tequila-infused air into my mouth.
“You are a good actor,” she said with a wink.
Back on the street, we were approached by a thick set, swarthy man clad in a long coat, who invited us to another lap dancing club.
When we declined, he offered to sell us cocaine.
Saying his name was Ivor, and rubbing his nose to illustrate his point, he said: “It is good stuff. You can try it before you buy. 500 zloty and it is really good. Trust me.”
CHEAP COCAINE
We declined but Ivor insisted on entering his number into my phone before sending himself a text.
Over the next 24 hours, he sent a series of WhatsApp messages, which all began: “Hello, my friend, it’s Ivor” and ended, “let me know if you want something.”
And he was far from the only tout offering illicit services. While prostitution is legal in Poland, operating a brothel is not, but that fact seems to have escaped the hustler, dubbed a ‘Licky licky man’ by tourists.
We bumped into him as we made our way back to our hotel and he refused to leave our side despite our purposeful strides.
Whispering in my ear, she said: ‘You can do anything you want in there. We can have full sex. What are your fantasies? Tell me what you like, baby’
Offering to put us in touch with a prostitute at a club, he added: “It’s 900 zloty for full sex – 250 zloty for a blow job with no teeth. Head in this direction for a massive erection.”
We brushed him off and moments later on Floriańska Street, we were approached by a young brunette wearing mittens and with diamond studs for eyebrows.
Producing a business card for a place called Sensual Touch Massage as she beckoned us inside, she said: “We offer a body on body massage. You can be naked and the girl will also be naked. It is a very sensual experience.”
Thankfully, most of the fellas we spoke to in Krakow said they were determined to give its notorious lap dancing clubs and massage parlours a wide swerve.
NOTORIOUS CLUBS
Tom, 25, from Liverpool, who declined to give his last name, was on a lads weekend with half a dozen mates.
He said: “No way would I go in one of those places. One of my mates did and they charged £800 to his bank card and it was impossible to get it back.
“We just got here and we’ve already been approached by the Licky licky man. He’s notorious around here but we’ve got no interest in those clubs. We’d rather have a few beers.”
Curtis Baxter, 32, from Glasgow, Scotland was on day two of a stag weekend. He said: “We’ve been approached by loads of touts but we’ve got no interest in all that.
“We’ve been on bar crawls and a shooting range and the beer is good value so I’d definitely recommend Krakow.
“We did visit one club here, but it wasn’t that type of club – they were playing house music and there wasn’t a pole dancer in sight, so we didn’t have any problems.”