Scopolamine: How Criminals Use It

Beware Scopolamine

Scopolamine is a drug used by many criminals to rob their victims. It comes in a white powder or pill form and induces a state of unconsciousness when administered. Usually, a criminal will seek out a male victim who is alone at a bar in a foreign country. An attractive female will approach the male victim and offer to buy him a drink. She will then discreetly add scopolamine to the drink before giving it to her victim. The next thing the man remembers is that he is alone in his hotel room and robbed of all his belongings.

Another scam that I have heard about here in Ecuador is where a victim is approached by a person carrying a map and asking for directions. When the person gets close to the victim they open the map, which contains the powder form of the drug, and it is thrusted in the face of the victim. This is the last thing the victim remembers before discovering that he has been robbed.

Apparently the drug induces a zombie like state where the victim is awake but unaware of his actions. I’ve heard stories of men walking around hotel lobbies babbling in the nude and unaware of what they are doing. This scam is prevalent in South America, especially in Colombia. Some reports estimate that more than 40% of emergency room visits in Bogotá are victims of the drug.

A little history about Scopolamine

Doctors used the drug in the 1940s to reduce the pain for mothers in labor. Also, there are unconfirmed reports that the drug was used in the 1940s and 1950s by intelligence agencies to illicit information from spies. It was used up to 1990 in the U.S. as a sleeping aid before the FDA stepped in and discontinued the sale of the drug over-the-counter.

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