How one of the UK’s worst sex offenders was finally caught

The Metropolitan Police were unaware they were about to encounter one of the UK’s worst sex offenders when responding to a 999 call from a young woman who said she believed she had been drugged at a networking event.

Although he lay low for years as he harassed a string of women in London, it took only moments for Chao Xu’s web of depravity to be exposed.

The 33-year-old woman was caught after her victim did not lose consciousness completely due to the stupefying drugs she put in the cocktail she called ‘The Spirit of Life’.

On May 31, he invited the woman to his Greenwich flat under the guise of meeting other professionals, then spiked her drink with GHB and Scopolamine and sexually assaulted her.

She recalled being “powerless” to defend herself and recalled Xu filming herself being raped as she lay “in and out of consciousness”. After he regained his full capacity, she confronted him and demanded to see his phone. After he refused, she roomed with him and told 999 that she suspected the man had poisoned, abused and filmed her.

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Within minutes, officers arrived and Xu transferred the PIN to his mobile device. Despite appearing “calm and docile” to police, a digital file downloaded by forensics revealed “deeply disturbing” videos and images documenting years of sexual abuse.

He was sentenced to at least 14 years in prison after admitting 24 sexual offences.

As well as encouraging young women to attend networking events, Xu installed hidden cameras around his property and in his office in Canary Wharf to spy on other victims, and lifted the skirts of “hundreds” of women on public transport, specifically targeting London Bridge tube station.

Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC told Woolwich Crown Court: “The evidence gathered by the police shows that the defendant was a brave and tenacious sexual attacker whose offending was becoming increasingly serious. The evidence reveals that the defendant was so courageous that he was prepared to attack anywhere. He was prepared to strike at his own home address, at work and at railway stations, as well as against anyone.”

He added: “It seemed no woman was safe around him.

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“His offending was essentially very carefully planned. He was using hidden cameras to record unsuspecting victims, whether by hiding them in the bathroom at home or secretly recording what he was doing using his mobile phone, and more worryingly, he was using drugs – most likely GHB – to incapacitate some of his victims so he could abuse them for hours and record what they were doing as a form of symbol.”

It is not believed that anyone openly suspected Xu of a crime before his arrest. The man, described by police as “relatively wealthy” with a nice flat in Stretton Manor, was the director of a recruitment firm and had been “very generous” to those who knew him.

Although he has a girlfriend, little is known about his past in China; police are contacting their Chinese counterparts to uncover more information as part of the ongoing investigation.

He moved to England in 2016 to study International Law at the University of Greenwich and remained in the UK on a work visa until his arrest. Police believe most of the crimes occur in London and very rarely leave the city.

Primarily through his business assisting Chinese graduate students, he began hosting events at his home that were described as professional networking opportunities.

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While some of his guests would be offered the ‘Spring of Life’, which contained various alcoholic substances and Chinese herbal medicines, police believe he would choose his intended victim and put drugs in his drink.

Other hidden cameras were hidden in everyday items such as air freshener, a pack of sanitary pads, a digital clock, a speaker and under the sink. They were also used to film women without their knowledge, and police said Xu compiled various videos and images of them for his own sexual gratification.

The first victim in the case is unknown and was targeted by Xu in February 2022, and detectives discovered 37 videos and two photographs of the half-dressed, unconscious victim being sexually assaulted by him. A second, unknown victim was also caught on camera at his previous address in Newington Causeway, with his cat visible in the background.

Investigating officers were also able to identify London Bridge as the location of many under-the-radar crimes, but it is believed he may have also targeted women at other tube stations.

Between February 2022 and June 2025, he 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 under another person’s clothing without their consent.

Honor Judge Christopher Grout said Xu was an “incredibly dangerous man” and took “great pleasure” in his crime.

The judge told Xu: “Your behavior was calculated and planned, as evidenced by the secret recording systems you installed in your apartments and the fact that you incapacitated some of your victims by drugging them.

“You betrayed the trust of some of the women you were friends with in the most horrific ways imaginable.”

Lead investigator, Detective Chief Inspector Lewis Sanderson, said: “This case revealed a deeply disturbing pattern of behavior spanning several years. Xu was operating in environments that were supposed to be safe.”

“University circles, professional networks and public spaces. He used trust, familiarity and social gatherings to pursue his actions and target vulnerable individuals. We know from the evidence that many women were filmed without their knowledge or consent.”

Police are now appealing for anyone with information or who suspects they may have been a victim of Xu’s crime to come forward. Since their initial appeal in August, 11 more women have come forward and the investigation is ongoing.

DCI Sanderson continued: “Our work does not end here. The investigation is very open and we believe there are many more victims – potentially hundreds – both in the UK and abroad. If you think you have been targeted by Xu, please come forward and speak to our team. You will be treated with empathy, kindness and respect and we will do everything possible to support you.”

Police said anyone wishing to make a report regarding Xu can contact them by emailing operation.kafka@met.police.uk or calling 02071753802.

People can also report to police from within the UK by calling 101 using reference 01/7563135/25.