Gangs of killers are roaming New York's LGBTQ+ nightlife scene and targeting gay men with roofies - drugging their drinks.
Two members of the LGBTQ+ community in Hells Kitchen have been killed in recent months and a number of gay men have been drugged and left thousands of dollars out of pocket.
New York City Police's homicide unit are now investigating the tragic death of Julio Ramirez, 25, after he died in the back seat of a taxi on April 21.
It was around 3.17am when he left a gay bar in Manhattan with a group of men who stole his mobile phone, wallet and driving licence.
His body was left dumped in the car next to a mortified taxi driver.
Carlos Ramirez, the brother of Julio, told the New York Times : “Nobody thought it was a crime initially, they had just thought he had taken something."
And just a few miles away from where Mr Ramirez was last seen John Umberger, 33, was found dead in an Upper East Side townhouse.
He and a group of men left Q nightclub in Manhattan on May 28 with CCTV footage showing Mr Umberger between the two men as they guided him to the car.
Last week Linda Clary, John's mum, warned New Yorkers of the criminal gangs preying on clubbers on nights out.
She told New York Post: “This same group of killers have drugged, robbed and murdered countless young gay men in New York.”
Toxicology reports showed Mr Umberger and Mr Ramirez both died of drug overdoes but were said to have been "roofied" - a term for drinks being spiked with date-rape drugs.
Mr Umberger was found to have cocaine, lidocaine, and fentanyl in his system.
The Police Department’s homicide unit are now investigating the deaths.
Locals in the LGBTQ+ community first thought the deaths were part of isolated drug overdoses - with the men partying too hard and fatally dying.
However, many of the men's families soon started to spot a pattern where the men's credit cards were maxed out.
Bank accounts were also emptied of thousands of dollars - using their own phone.
Cops confirmed they are investigating robberies in Hell's Kitchen after a number of attacks have been taking place there.
They could not confirm if Mr Ramirez and Mr Umberger were targeted because they were gay.
Some of the men who were drugged said police struggle to believe they were victims of crimes and not excessive partygoers.
Oscar Alarcon, 33, claims he was drugged in March 2020 at the Ritz after waking up on the floor of his hotel.
He noticed he was $2,000 (£1,600) down after the gangs transferred money from his mobile phone using PayPal and Zelle apps.
He said : "I don’t remember how I left. Then I just woke up in a strange hotel lobby.”
Mr Alarcon told officers who filed a report but he never heard back. He admitted at that time they "didn't seem interested."
In each of the bar attacks the men confirmed they were drugged by strangers they did not remember meeting.
Tyler Burt, 27, claims he was drugged at the Boiler Room last December and was robbed of $25,000 (£20,000) after his drug test revealed he had taken cocaine.
This is despite having no memory of taking the drug as his doctor believe he had been drugged with the drug GHB.
However, the date-rape drug GHB is not included on routine drug tests.
The drugs last in a person's system for a short time which makes it extremely difficult to show-up.
Burt reported his drugging to the police but was met with skepticism as they pressed him on whether had been assaulted.
He told them "getting drugged is assault."
The victim only heard back from authorities last week but concluded there was no further action being taken.
