Gang arrested for using spray drug to fleece victims

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Five Chinese nationals have been arrested on suspicion of using a powerful Colombian drug dubbed "the devil's breath" that turns victims into zombies - in the second sting operation in Paris in weeks.

The gang was arrested in Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport last weekend carrying 75,000 ($128,400) and US$16,500 ($25,000) in cash with a thermos full of precious jewellery.

Police believe the valuables were stolen from dozens of victims who were sprayed with scopolamine, a hazardous drug extracted from a South American tree related to deadly nightshade, which temporarily deprives people of free will. In strong doses it is lethal.

The Soviets and the CIA reportedly experimented with it as a truth serum during the Cold War while Joseph Mengele, the Nazi doctor, had it imported from Colombia to use in interrogations. The drug also induces powerful hallucinations.

Under surveillance for several days, the five were about to board a plane for China's Guangdong province. All denied using the dangerous drug and insisted they were "simple Chinese tourists asking people the way", a police source said. Most of their alleged victims, mainly old, said they were approached by young Chinese woman claiming to be lost and then fell into a "dreamlike state" and handed over their belongings.

The arrests came weeks after two Chinese women and a man were held and charged with using a similar drug on victims in central Paris.

According to France Info radio, analysis of powder discovered in a makeshift laboratory in a Paris suburb found it contained scopolamine and atropine, a medication which can also cause hallucinations.

It is thought all those arrested are part of an international Triad-style criminal gang running a multimillion-dollar operation in various countries.

Tales surrounding scopolamine are the stuff of urban legend, with horror stories of how people were raped, forced to empty their bank accounts, and even coerced into giving up an organ.

Unofficial estimates put the number of annual scopolamine incidents in Colombia at 50,000.

Devil's Breath

Clinical name: Scopolamine
Also known as: Hyoscine, burundanga
Grown: Mainly South America

What is it?
A powerful drug extracted from plants belonging to the nightshade family. It is odourless and tasteless

What are its effects?
It is said to turn users into 'zombies' devoid of free will, who then suffer amnesia.

How is it taken?
The drug can be swallowed or inhaled. It can simply be blown in the face of someone on the street; their free will vanishes after exposure

Is it new?
It was reportedly used as a truth serum in the Cold War. It is also said to have been given to the mistresses of dead Colombian leaders before being led to their master's grave and buried alive

Any positives?
It could treat some forms of severe depression.