When answering a 999 call from a young woman who said she believed she had been spiked at a networking event, the Metropolitan Police were unaware they were about to stumble across one of the UK’s worst sex offenders.
Despite going under the radar for years as he abused a series of women in London, it took just a matter of minutes for Chao Xu’s web of depravity to be revealed.
The 33-year-old was caught after his victim was not rendered fully unconscious by the stupefying drugs he had placed in her cocktail, which he had named ‘The Spirit of Life’.
He had invited to the woman to his Greenwich flat on 31 May under the guise that she could meet other professionals, before placing GHB and Scopolamine in her drink and sexually assaulting her.
She recalled being “powerless” to defend herself and remembered seeing Xu film her being raped as she lay “in and out of consciousness”. Once she regained full capacity of herself, she confronted him and asked to see his phone. Once he refused, she remained in the same room with him as she told 999 she suspected he had spiked, abused and filmed her.
Within minutes, officers had arrived and Xu handed over the PIN to his mobile device. While he appeared “calm and compliant” to police, a forensic digital download revealed “deeply disturbing” videos and images which documented his years of sexual abuse.
He has now been jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years after pleading guilty to 24 sex offences.
As well as spiking young women who attended his networking events, Xu placed hidden cameras around his property and at his office in Canary Wharf to spy on other victims, and upskirted “hundreds” of women on public transport, particularly targeting London Bridge tube station.
Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC told Woolwich Crown Court: “The evidence gathered by the police shows the defendant to be a bold and persistent sexual predator whose offending has steadily become more and more serious. The evidence revealed he was so emboldened he was willing to strike anywhere. At his own home address, at his place of work and in train stations and also willing to strike in respect of anyone.”
She added: “It appears that no woman was safe around him.
“His offending was mainly planned in a very careful way. He would use hidden cameras to record unsuspecting victims, whether by concealing them in his bathroom at home or by covertly using his mobile telephone to record what he was doing and, even more concerningly, he would use drugs – most likely GHB – to incapacitate some of his victims so he could then abuse them over the course of hours, recording what he was doing as some sort of token.”
Prior to his arrest, it is not believed that anyone suspected Xu, who had been offending in plain sight. Described by police as “relatively wealthy” with a nice flat in Stretton Mansions, he had been the director of a recruitment company and had been “very generous” towards those that knew him.
While he had a girlfriend, little is known about his background in China, with police liaising with their Chinese counterparts to uncover more information as part of the ongoing investigation.
Having moved to the UK in 2016, he had studied International Law at Greenwich University, before remaining in the UK on a working visa until his arrest. Police believe that the majority of his offending occurred in London, and that he very infrequently left the city.
Through his business, which primarily helped Chinese graduate students, he began hosting events at his home which were described as professional networking opportunities.
While several of his guests would be offered ‘The Spring of Life’, which contained various alcoholic substances and Chinese herbal medicines, police believe he would single out his intended victim and place drugs in her drink.
Other secret cameras were hidden inside everyday items such as air freshener, a packet of sanitary pads, a digital clock, a speaker, and under a wash basin. They had also been used to film women without their knowledge, and police said that Xu had compiled his various videos and images for his own sexual gratification.
The first victim in the case is unknown, and was targeted by Xu in February 2022 with detectives discovering 37 videos and two images of the half-dressed unconscious victim being sexually abused 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 pinpoint London Bridge as the location for many of his upskirting crimes, but it is believed that he may have also targeted women at other underground stations.
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 beneath the clothing of another without consent between February 2022 and June 2025.
His Honour Judge Christopher Grout said Xu was an “incredibly dangerous man” who “took great enjoyment” from his offending.
The judge told Xu: “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.”
The lead investigator, Detective Chief Inspector Lewis Sanderson, said: “This case has revealed a deeply disturbing pattern of behaviour that spans several years. Xu operated in environments that were meant 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 recovered that many women were filmed without their knowledge and consent.”
Police are now appealing for anyone with information, or who suspects they may have been a victim of Xu’s offending to come forward. Since their initial appeal in August, 11 more women have come forward and the investigation remains ongoing.
DCI Sanderson continued: “Our work does not stop here. The investigation remains very much open, and we believe there are many more victims—potentially hundreds—both in the UK and overseas. If you think you may have been targeted by Xu, please come forward and speak with 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 relating to Xu can contact them via email on operation.kafka@met.police.uk or by phoning 02071753802.
People can also make a report to police by calling 101 from within the UK, quoting reference 01/7563135/25.
