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.
