Detectives from the Met Police plan to visit Northern Ireland on a search for any victims of a serial rapist dating back to when he studied in Belfast.
The PSNI is working with colleagues in London who investigated the case of Chinese national Zhenhao Zou – believed to be one of the most prolific sexual predators ever seen in the UK.
The 28-year-old was convicted this week of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China.
However, it is feared the real number of victims targeted could be more than 50.
Zou was convicted of the harrowing attacks involving two women who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.
The PhD student attended Queen’s University in Belfast between 2017 and 2019.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Policing Board, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the PSNI had been in touch with the Met and were working closely with them to establish if there are further victims.
Zou moved from China to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s before heading to London in 2019 to do a master’s degree and then a PhD at University College London (UCL).
Investigators first charged Zou in January 2024, but waited for more than a year until he had been convicted before making public appeals for further victims to come forward.
Sinn Fein Policing Board member Linda Dillon asked Mr Boutcher to outline of what work was being done to identify victims “of this prolific offender” from his time studying in Belfast.
Mr Boutcher responded: “Our thoughts go to the victims and survivors of this awful offending.
“The Met lead on this, they have been in touch with Queen’s also”.
The Chief Constable said he had been in touch with the senior Met detective in charge of the investigation, adding that they planned to visit Belfast in the wake of Zou’s conviction.
“Thus far, we haven’t seen that there was any offending here,” he added.
“However, the fact we now have the publicity, which we couldn’t have before because that would have prejudiced the trial, is again an opportunity to appeal for anyone to come forward who may have any concerns and have known this man.
“The issue is that many of the victims do not know they are victims.
“I would appeal to anybody who met him, or in any way was alone with him, in any circumstances … or been in his accommodation, that they come forward and speak to us.”
Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck added that the Public Protection Branch of the PSNI has been liaising with the Met.
“We view this very much as still a live investigation … it is important we use this opportunity to appeal to anyone, anyone who thinks they have impacted by this case or by this offender to please make contact with ourselves,” he said.
“They will be supported by specially trained detectives from public protection branch”.
Women’s Aid has urged anyone in Belfast affected by the Zou case to contact them.
“In light of recent reports around serial perpetrator Zhenhao Zou, who was a student at Queen’s University Belfast and lived in Northern Ireland for two years, we want to reach out to those who may have been affected by this case,” the organisation said.
“If you or someone you know may have been impacted please know that you are not alone.”
An appeal for more victims of Zhenhao Zou to come forward (Metropolitan Police/PA)
Zou filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial at Inner London Crown Court were told.
Judge Rosina Cottage said he is a “dangerous and predatory sexual offender” and warned him he faces a “very long” jail term when he is sentenced on June 19.
Most of his victims didn’t even realise they had been drugged.
Met Police seized hundreds of hours of disturbing videos and photos that he kept, around half of which are thought to have been filmed in the UK and half in China.
After a month-long trial, Zou, who was most recently living in Elephant and Castle, south-east London, was found guilty of raping three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023.
He was convicted of 11 counts of rape – two of the offences related to one victim.
Zou was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.
He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, and five counts of possession of controlled drugs to commit a sexual offence, namely one count involving MDMA, three involving ketamine, and one of alprazolam.
Prosecutors said Zou appears to be “a smart and charming young man” but is in fact “a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist”.