Dragon Soop: Police blame ‘surge in youth violence’ on caffeinated alcoholic drink

It is thought underage teenagers are finding ways to buy the drinks, then becoming intoxicated and violent

Dragon Soop is a drink available in a range of flavours from peach and raspberry to mango pink lemonade (OGDuffy Eats/YouTube)

A popular alcoholic energy drink has been blamed for an “unprecedented” rise of youth violence in Newcastle city centre.

Police officers have connected a series of violent incidents to the caffeinated alcoholic beverage Dragon Soop, following a barrage of complaints about anti-social behaviour.

Dragon Soop is a drink available in a range of flavours from peach and raspberry to mango pink lemonade, with an ABV of 7.5 per cent.

Officers have claimed underage teenagers are finding ways to buy the drinks, are becoming intoxicated then committing “serious assaults”.

The comments were made during a sub-licensing committee meeting on Tuesday after a store on Grainger Street bid for permission to sell alcohol.

As part of the force’s objections to the application, sergeant Emma Dixon detailed the alcohol-related issues officers are facing in the area and singled out Dragon Soop in documents seen by The Independent.

The force said some young people told them they had bought alcohol themselves from off-licences, while others said they asked older people to buy them alcohol while they waited outside (PA Archive)

“From the intelligence gathered from this operation we discovered that youths were obtaining their alcohol in the form of “Dragon Soop” [a caffeinated alcohol beverage] from various off-licences within the city,” the witness statement read.

“Their behaviour would deteriorate during the evening as they became more intoxicated and more violent incidents were reported by members of the public.”

She went on to share details of “Operation Magnolia”, which saw officers operating during school holiday periods to target an “unprecedented surge in youth violence which police believed was a direct result of underage alcohol consumption and misuse of drugs”.

Some incidents involved groups of up to 30 young people gathering in the city centre between 6pm and midnight.

The force said young people had told them they had bought alcohol themselves from off-licences, while others said they asked older people to buy them alcohol while they waited outside.

The energy drink has been blamed for a rise of youth violence in Newcastle city centre (Getty Images)

She added there were “several arrests of young people for serious assaults on members of the public” in the city centre last year and added: “All were drunk at the time and could not remember what they had done until they were shown the CCTV.”

A decision on the licensing application from the shop, called News Express, is due to be made in the next five working days.

At shop’s representative at the hearing, Jonathon Rodger, told the committee that the store’s request was “exceptionally narrow” with them avoiding the youth drinking market.

He said: “[There will be a] very limited product range, not only avoiding the problematic drinks but focusing on the high-quality, low-volume, high-margin.

“Only wines and spirits with a minimum price and minimum volume, avoiding entirely the youth and street drinking market.

“It is fanciful to think that, under these conditions, my client is going to be a supplier to beggars, addicts, and troublemakers.”

Dragon Soop has been contacted for a comment.