Three arrested in Paris over 'devil's breath' drug that turns victims into willing 'zombies'

By Henry Samuel

Paris 7:11PM BST 01 Sep 2015
The three are thought to have stolen millions from unsuspecting victims by blowing scopolamine, a powerful "hypnotic" drug, into strangers' faces

Brugmansia arborea, also known as Angel's Trumpet Brugmansia arborea, also known as Angel's Trumpet, from the Solanaceae family, contain the alkaloid scopolamine

Police have seized two Chinese women and a man in Paris suspected of using a powerful Colombian drug dubbed "the devil’s breath" that turns victims into “zombies” devoid of free will and rob them. It is thought the three are part of an international Triad-style criminal gang running a multimillion-pound operation around the planet. The women, aged 42 and 59, approached strangers in Paris’ 20th arrondissement and blew the substance into their faces. It is thought to contain scopolamine, a hazardous drug extracted from a South American tree related to deadly nightshade.

The Soviets and the CIA reportedly used it as a truth serum during the Cold War, while Joseph Mengeles, the Nazi physician dubbed the Angel of Death, had it imported from Colombia to use in interrogations. However, because of the drug’s chemical make-up, it also induces powerful hallucinations.

Angel Trumpet, Angel's Trumpet Tree or Datura, Brugmansia arborea, Solanaceae, Tropical South America South American shamans believe angel's trumpet is a sacred plant

In strong doses it is lethal. Infamous murderer Dr Crippen is believed to have killed his wife Cora in 1910 using the drug before trying to flee to Canada. Paris’ judicial police believe the Chinese suspects administered the substance on “dozens” of victims in the French capital in the first reported case of such crimes.

The victims targeted, very often old, were accosted in the street by a first woman,” a source close to the investigation told Le Parisien newspaper. This person claimed to be looking for a mysterious 'Doctor Wang' before being joined by her accomplice. "They managed to isolate their victims, then got them to breathe in a mixture of plants on the grounds they had powerful curative qualities – even protecting them from misfortune.” Once they inhaled, all the victims recounted falling into a kind of “hypnotic state under the total sway of their handlers,” said the investigative source. “They then took advantage by getting the victims to take them to their home, where they asked them to put all their jewellery and money into a bag and hand it over to them.” One Parisian victim lost €100,000 (£73,500) worth of valuables and cash in this way, police said.

The pair had reportedly been operating since spring in Paris. They were caught this week at the entrance to a metro station after they were identified by a member of one of the victims’ entourage. Both deny wrongdoing. In a subsequent raid on their hotel room in Seine-Saint-Denis, a north-eastern suburb, police discovered an array of vials including “various Chinese medicinal substances as well as weighing scales, filters and gloves”. Analysis of the substance's precise contents is under way.
A third 56-year old suspect, thought to have prepared the mysterious drug, was later arrested.
Chinese authorities informed their French counterparts that the trio belonged to a notorious Chinese criminal network, which “acts around the world and specialises in mental submission with the aid of unknown products," according to Le Parisien. Other members have reportedly been arrested in China and South Korea.

The two women’s passports suggested that they had recently travelled to Madrid and Mexico.
Scopolamine is made from the seeds of a tree called Borrachero – roughly translated as “drunken binge” – which blooms with deceptively beautiful white and yellow flowers. It is mainly produced in Colombia via a chemical process that results in a white powder resembling cocaine.

- The Telegraph

175lb Tiger-like Cat Beast Loose in Paris

BREAKING NEWS!

Paw print found as search continues for 'tiger' on prowl near Paris

Soldiers called in to help hunt for the Disneyland Paris "tiger", with fresh paw prints spotted after beast apparently crossed a major highway and slinked past a a petrol station

Police hunt for tiger on the loose near Paris

Police and soldiers hunting for a large cat believed to be on the loose near Paris have shut down a motorway service station after the beast was spotted there a day after it was first seen near the Disneyland theme park.

Motorists were warned to be extra vigilant on the busy A4 motorway after a driver first spotted what he described as a “wandering animal” before dawn on Friday at the service station.

Paw prints believed were later found on the grounds of the service station. However, the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife said it is not a tiger but some other sort of (as yet unidentified) feline. They base their statement on analysis of its paw prints.

The threat level appeared to be downgraded on Friday, with the local director of public safety, Chantal Baccanini, saying there was "no danger for the general population".

"It's between a domestic cat and a bigger feline," said Eric Hansen from the national hunting office ONCFS.

For this reason, the searches were being reduced to just a "security team" looking for the animal in the urban area of Montevrain, next to the Disneyland Paris theme park.

Local authorities had earlier warned inhabitants of a nearby village not to walk in the streets and advised joggers not to use the nearby forest.

The animal would have had to cross the motorway about six miles from the village of Montévrain where it was first seen next to a supermarket car park on Thursday morning.

“Traces of the animal were spotted in the service station grounds in Ferrières-en-Brie … The Total petrol station has been shut,” police said in a statement. The story has gripped France with wall-to-wall coverage on rolling news channels and local Le Parisien newspaper splashing the animal on its front page with the headline: "The unbelievable tiger alert."

Police armed with tranquilliser guns were brought in on Thursday to track the animal, and a dozen soldiers from a nearby army base later joined the hunt for the fearsome beast which was also being tracked from above by a helicopter equipped with thermal imaging.

A dog trained in tracking bears and large game was also helping with the hunt. Police said they would try to sedate the animal once they find it but said they might have to shoot it dead if it presented a threat.

Police in Montrévain, 25 miles east of Paris, right next to the popular Disneyland Paris theme park, stood guard at the four local schools on Friday, as well as at another in the nearby town of Chessy, in case the beast was still in the area.

Jean-François Ameur, told his 12-year-old son to “be careful” as he dropped him off at school in Montrévain.

“It’s still on the loose and it hasn’t eaten. So yes, I am worried,” he said, adding that he like most other parents were making sure their children would not have to walk to or from school.

Tiger expert Gilbert Edelstein, from the Pinder circus, said the best response to coming face-to-face with the stripy beast, thought to weigh around 155 pounds, was to "scream as loud as possible."

"Even better, scream in German. The guttural sounds could scare him away," he told AFP news agency.

What is the beast on the prowl in France?

Authorities were still scratching their heads as to where the feline could have come from.

Locals said that the "tiger" could have escaped from a circus which was in the town the previous week. But the mayor of Montévrain ruled that out. "The circus has been gone since Saturday, and during a health check carried out before the gendarmes did not see any tigers present," said a spokesman for the mayor's office.

Another theory was that it could have escaped from the Parc des Felins, a big cat sanctuary 20 miles from Montévrain. But a spokesman at the sanctuary said they were not aware of any missing animals. - Telegraph . co . uk

***



(CNN) -- The big cat spotted in the woods east of Paris isn't a tiger after all, French authorities said Friday, citing analysis of the beast's tracks.

Just what kind of feline the French are dealing with remains a bit of a mystery, so police in the Seine-et-Marne department cautioned residents to continue to take care when walking and to avoid wooded areas.

But an official with the National Board of Wildlife and Hunting, Eric Hansen, told CNN affiliate BFM that the cat, whatever it is, poses no danger to people. Witnesses first reported the feline Thursday in an area not from Disneyland Paris. Park visitors weren't in any danger, a spokeswoman said.

Police and other officials armed with dart guns hunted the cat all day Thursday without success.

Many French didn't seem to be seriously worried.

"I think it's more afraid than dangerous," Caroline Dos Santos said Friday.

"For me, I think it's a joke," Jenny Bel Air said.

But Khalil Mabrouk had a plan.

"If I saw the tiger in the street, I would run away," he said. "Really."