Common anti-sickness drug chillingly dubbed ‘devil's breath' is turning people ‘into Zombies', experts warn
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A COMMON motion sickness drug has a chilling dual identity, as it's deployed in the criminal underworld to turn people into pliant "zombies".
Dubbed "devil's breath", the substance can erase people's memories and strip them of their free will, leaving them unable to resist demands.
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Anti-sickness pill scopolamine also has a sinister use in the criminal underworld
Credit: Getty
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In high doses, the substance can erase memory and turn people into 'zombies'
Credit: Getty
In medicine, the drug is known as scopolamine. It's used to prevent motion sickness and nausea and is available in tablet form in pharmacies, sold over-the-counter.
But the same plants used to produce anti-sickness pills yield a compound that's been put to dangerous use in parts of South America and Europe.
Now, there are concerns scopolamine is being used to fuel criminal activity in the UK.
Reports of devil's breath mostly come Colombia and other parts of South America, burundanga - as it's known - has been implicated in countless robberies and sexual assaults.
As for Europe, three people were arrested in Paris in 2015 for allegedly using the drug to turn people into compliant 'zombies' and rob them.
The UK's first known murder linked to scopolamine was reported in 2019, when Irish dancer Adrian Murphy was poisoned by a couple attempting to steal from him.
And just last month, Deborah Oscar, 30, claimed she was spiked with the terrifying drug on a London tube.
She was on the Elizabeth Line leaving from Abbey Wood when a woman wafted a newspaper in her face - leaving her feeling "high" and "sleepy - before sitting next to her in an empty carriage.
Remembering a TikTok she'd seen about devil's breath, Deborah was able to stumble off the tube to safety.
Zaheen Ahmed, Director of Addiction Therapy at The UKAT Group, told The Sun at the time: "It wouldn't be a stretch to suggest that devil's breath could have made its way into the UK.
"Unfortunately, when there's high demand for drugs, especially 'new' drugs, supply will find a way.
"Although primarily found in Colombia, we know that it's already made its way into Europe, and so unfortunately, there is every chance that it is already here."
Drug 'weaponised'
As a drug, scopolamine blocks the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which plays a vital role in memory, learning, and coordination, according to Dipa Kamdar, a senior lecturer in pharmacy practice at Kingston University.
She wrote in The Conversation: "Blocking [the neurotransmitter] helps reduce nausea by interrupting signals from the balance system to the brain.
"But it also comes with side effects, especially when used in high doses or outside a clinical setting.
"Scopolamine disrupts the cholinergic system, which is central to memory formation and retrieval.
"As a result, it can cause temporary but severe memory loss: a key reason it's been weaponised in crimes.
Once ingested, the drug works quickly and exits the body within about 12 hours, making it hard to detect in routine drug screenings. For some people, even a dose under 10mg can be fatal
Dipa Kamdar
"Some studies also suggest it increases oxidative stress in the brain, compounding its effects on cognition."
Outside of legitimate medical uses - to prevent motion sickness, nausea, vomiting and muscle spasms, as well as off-label prescriptions for depression or smoking cessation - scopolamine is "increasingly associated with danger", Dipa warned.
In Colombia and other parts of South America, the substance has been used robberies and sexual assaults.
"Victims describe feeling dreamlike, compliant, and unable to resist or recall events," according to Dipa.
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Deborah Oscar, 30, suspects she was spiked on a London train with 'devil's breath'
"That's what makes it so sinister – it robs people of both agency and memory.
"The drug is often administered surreptitiously. In its powdered form, it's odourless and tasteless, making it easy to slip into drinks or blow into someone's face, as some victims have reported.
"Once ingested, the drug works quickly and exits the body within about 12 hours, making it hard to detect in routine drug screenings.
"For some people, even a dose under 10mg can be fatal."
Devil's breath: Explained
Scopolamine is derived from the seeds of the Borrachero tree, primarily found in South America.
In small doses, it has some legitimate medical applications, such as treating nausea and motion sickness.
It is thought that the indigenous peoples of South America once took it for its hallucinogenic properties, and it was wielded by shamans for various rites and ceremonies.
In modern times, however, it has gained notoriety for far more sinister reasons.
While the powdered form is tasteless and odourless, scopolamine is a potent drug that can disorient and incapacitate users and lead to frightening hallucinations.
This can make it a discreet tool for malevolent purposes, particularly as it can erase memory, make users highly impressionable and even paralyse them physically.
Some people may also take the drug on purpose for a "dream-like state" it can induce, mistakenly thinking it will be like mainstream hallucinogens like LSD.
But devil's breath hallucinations tend to be far more disturbing and disjointed, often manifesting as nightmarish visions or confusing scenarios that blur the lines of reality.
It may also be taken by mistake due to its close resemblance to cocaine.
The correct dosage of the drug is notoriously hard to pin down, and even a slight miscalculation can lead to an overdose.
This can lead to respiratory failure, acute psychosis and even death.
Symptoms may include dry mouth, difficulty speaking, lethargy, hallucinations, rapid heartbeat and disorientation.
Source: The UKAT Group
A 2017 report details the case of a 47-year-old Canadian man holidaying in Bogota, Colombia, who claimed to have been robbed at a bus terminal.
He experienced memory loss for approximately 12 hours and emerged from his stupor to realise he was missing $250 in cash and his mobile phone.
"He had no signs of physical or sexual assault; however, he felt disoriented and confused, was unable to concentrate, and suffered from marked xerostomia [dry mouth]," the report authors noted.
Believing he may have been exposed to scopolamine, he visited a doctor when he was back in Canada.
Toxicology and drug screenings came back negative.
"We recognised that our patient described the anticholinergic toxidrome [blockage of acetylcholine receptors] expected in scopolamine intoxication," medics said.
Dipa described the symptoms of scopolamine poisoning as rapid heartbeat and palpitations, dry mouth and flushed skin, blurred vision, confusion and disorientation, hallucinations and drowsiness.
"If you experience any of these, especially after an unexpected drink or interaction, seek medical attention immediately," she warned.
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