The story line sounds like it’s straight out of a movie. The women and a man, all Chinese, were arrested in Paris for using a powerful drug, “Devil’s Breath” to turn their victims into de facto zombies and then robbing them.
The drug is so powerful that once victims are incapacitated with it, many are completely willing to following the commands of their robbers.
What’s more, the robbers merely had to blow smoke from the drug into the victim’s face. Just a brief exposure is strong enough to turn people into compliant zombies, essentially devoid of their free will.
One victim reported being exposed to the drug, and then led home by the robbers. Once she was home, the victim handed over a $100,000 dollars worth of valuable jewelry and money. Many of the victims that were targeted were elderly, making them even more vulnerable to the drug.
The total amount of money stolen by the trio remains unknown, but officials believe it could amount to millions of dollars worth of stolen goods. It is also believed that the three suspects are members of a global triad that uses the drug as part of a multi-million dollar scheme.
The drug used is believed to contain scopolamine, a sort of truth serum that was actually used by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. People who have been exposed to the drug generally follow commands without resistance.
The drug is extracted from a South American tree. Medical experts note that many victims remember nothing after being exposed to it, and thus are unlikely to report any crime to the police.
