TOURISTS in Colombia are being hunted by gangs utilizing a terrifying drug dubbed Satan’s Breath — a mind-warping chemical that turns victims into compliant “zombies” earlier than they’re robbed, kidnapped and even killed.
Also called scopolamine or burundanga, the highly effective drug is derived from the seeds of the Borrachero tree and was as soon as examined by the CIA as a fact serum.
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In doses as small as 10mg, it might probably paralyse victims and go away them extremely inclined to instructions, making them simple prey for criminals.
Victims lose their will, neglect what occurred, and infrequently hand over PINs, valuables and passwords and not using a struggle.
Now Colombian gangs are plying unsuspecting vacationers with the drug through drinks, chewing gum, cigarettes — and even enterprise playing cards soaked within the substance — typically after luring them by apps like Tinder or Grindr. And the physique rely is rising.
Murders, robberies & warnings
In a UK first, the drug was utilized in 2019 to murder Irish dancer Adrian Murphy.
Teen killer Diana Cristea and her boyfriend Joel Osei met him on Grindr, poisoned him with scopolamine, and ransacked his flat.
They had been later convicted of homicide and tried homicide of a second sufferer.
In Colombia, overseas customer deaths rose by 29% final yr. Robberies in Medellín alone soared by 200% within the final quarter of 2023, prompting worldwide warnings.
The US Embassy warned: “The usage of on-line relationship apps can enhance your threat. Be cautious assembly strangers.”
Backstreet chemists can extract 90% pure scopolamine with little extra data than a second-year science pupil.
In grapefruit juice, the drug is much more potent as a result of the juice slows the physique’s means to interrupt it down.
UK scientist’s brutal demise
British-based scientist Alessandro Coatti, 42, was on vacation in Santa Marta final month when he was lured to an deserted home through Grindr.
There, investigators imagine he was drugged, bludgeoned to demise, dismembered, and stuffed into suitcases.
His remains were found scattered across the city, found by horrified youngsters.
Solely his head, palms and toes have been recovered.
Mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello mentioned: “We’re providing a reward of fifty million Colombian pesos for info that can permit us to determine and seize these accountable. This crime is not going to go unpunished.”
Coatti, a Royal Society of Biology scientist, had been travelling in South America after leaving his job to volunteer in Ecuador.
He was recognized by a lodge wristband discovered on considered one of his severed limbs.
Whereas the precise reason for demise for the Italian scientist stays formally unconfirmed, there’s hypothesis that he could have been drugged with scopolamine previous to his homicide.
The ‘Scopolamine Queen’
One of many masterminds behind this chilling felony development is alleged gang boss Carolina Mejía Montoya, 27, nicknamed “The Queen of Scopolamine.”
She was arrested in Medellín after years of drugging and robbing overseas vacationers in luxurious flats and resorts throughout the vacationer hotspots of El Poblado and Parque Lleras.
She racked up thousands and thousands in thefts, utilizing her magnificence to achieve the belief of high-profile guests.
In a single night time alone, she stole greater than 120 million pesos from an Italian and an American man, police mentioned.
CCTV captured her main victims into short-term leases earlier than drugging them and fleeing with their money, playing cards and jewelry.
Mejía, a part of the La Marina gang, had beforehand been granted home arrest in a gun case — solely to fade and proceed her spree.
‘You do something they are saying’
Victims describe the impact of the drug as hypnotic and horrifying.
Fernando, a 64-year-old Brit, believes he was drugged whereas on a piece journey to Bogotá in 2012.
He advised The Telegraph: “It’s very harmful since you’re completely hypnotised, you do something they are saying.”
He mentioned he blacked out after sipping a spiked beer and awoke the following day with €1,000 gone.
Safety later confirmed he’d wandered again to his lodge, retrieved a card from his secure, and left once more—whereas nonetheless beneath the affect.
“It does one thing to your mind the place you neglect fully… it’s like a vacuum,” he added.
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Too late to recollect
Others haven’t been so fortunate. Colombian TikTok person “Manning” recalled being drugged after a Tinder date — waking up six hours later in a ransacked house, his valuables, designer garments and even his flip-flops gone.
“It was the worst expertise. I awoke and located myself mendacity in my house, a large number,” he mentioned, in response to Infobae.
Safety footage confirmed the date calmly leaving with stolen suitcases.
And it’s not simply apps or nightlife.
In Bogotá, scopolamine has been sprinkled on ATMs, notebooks, and even jackets to focus on unsuspecting victims in daylight.
In a single case on the Atlantis Buying Middle, a lady fainted after touching a keypad coated in powder.
In one other, a person turned disoriented after attempting to assist a stranger with instructions close to the Andino mall.
Each survived — however specialists warn many don’t.
“It places the mind to sleep. You’re a zombie,” Dr Sarah Cockbill, a retired marketing consultant pharmacist, advised The Telegraph.
“Individuals just do wander spherical in what seems to be like a trance.”
Prof Kamyar Afarinkia, a toxicology knowledgeable, added: “You will get a enterprise card, soak it in [scopolamine], let it dry after which give it to someone.
“Once they contact it, except they wash their palms rapidly, it will get absorbed beneath their pores and skin.”
The drug’s recognition with criminals lies in its subtlety.
Victims gained’t realise they’ve been uncovered till it’s too late—and lots of are too embarrassed to report it.
In accordance with the US Embassy in Bogotá, eight Americans died in late 2023 alone from involuntary drug overdoses or suspected scopolamine-related homicides.
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