Emily ditched the UK to live in ChinaSWNSShe said her rent and bills are now much cheaperSWNSSWNS
Her weekly food shop is now just £10[/caption]
The Brit now lives in Suzhou in the Jiangsu Province of Eastern China, where her monthly rent is just £323, a massive saving on the £850 she was paying back home.
Working as an teacher in both kindergarten and junior high schools, Emily normally works just 13 hours every week – teaching English to Chinese students – and is paid £20 per hour.
Noticing a huge difference in the amount she spends, Emily said that as well as cheaper rent and bills, the cost of days out is much cheaper too.
Discussing her decision to move to China, she said: “I think what drew me to it is it’s so different to rainy England.
“In Manchester the rent for a one-bed apartment, as my university accommodation, was £850 per month.
“The rent every month here has been costing me 2,200 yuan which at the moment is about £323 pounds.
“You can go to the market here and literally buy a full food shop for £5 and that can last you a few days.”
And bills are much cheaper now for Emily than they were in the UK.
“The utilities in China are 100 yen for the electricity per month and in British pounds that’s about £10.15, that was costing me £37 in the UK”, she explained.
“My water bill is 100 yuan but we only really have to pay it every three months, so £10.15 every three months – compared to £37 in the UK.”
Emily first began learning Chinese alongside her masters degree in Journalism – where she also met boyfriend Wei, 30.
After securing a job in Suzhou whilst completing her TESOL qualification – which stands for Teaching English to Speaker of Other Languages- the couple moved out to China together, where they now live in a one-bed apartment.
She said: “It was actually my Chinese teacher’s old boss that was hiring teachers in China.
How easy is it to move abroad?
Brexit means British citizens now have to apply for visas to move to countries within the EU. While some countries residency restrictions are easier than others, here’s what you need to do at home before moving:
Notify HMRC about your upcoming move.
Let your local authority know and provide a forwarding address.
Contact your mortgage and utility providers and bank before leaving.
If you have paid enough UK national insurance contributions, you can qualify for a state pension abroad – contact the International Pension Centre.
If you have children, give due notice to childcares and schools.
“Once I had my TESOL certificate they could start giving me my contract and work permit.
“Personally within the company I work in there is more of a work life balance.
“There’s more flexibility than in the UK.
“I think I wanted to move to explore and see something new because a lot of the time in the UK there’s not a lot that goes on.
“In summer in China there are a lot of light shows and concerts at parks.
“There’s a hustle and bustle and a lot going on.
Emily explains most attractions – like water towns including Mudu, Nanxun and Zhouzhuang – cost as little as £1 for entry, and says she spends a lot of her time walking in the different parks on offer in her area.
Teaching a mixture of class based and one-to-one sessions, Emily is paid around £20 an hour, and estimates she earns £10,145 over the year.
Living in a one-bed apartment with a kitchen, bathroom, living area and mezzanine floor for their bedroom, the couple spend their weekends travelling to local “ancient towns”.
Despite loving life in Suzhou, Emily can see herself returning to the UK at some point.
“I think it’s more wanting to come back to family,” she said.
“When you’re in China you kind of value family a lot more because everyone places a big value on family.”
SWNS
Emily teaches English and works just 13 hours a week[/caption]
SWNS
She plans to move back to the UK eventually[/caption]
FOR an agonising 24 years, Peter Falconio’s elderly parents have clung to the hope that his killer might finally reveal where their son’s body is hidden.
EMBARKING on her first ever Caribbean cruise, Amy Bradley was excited for the luxury trip ahead.
Her insurance agent parents, Ron and Iva, had won the once-in-a-lifetime holiday for being top of the annual sales list and were delighted that their children – Amy, 23, and Brad, 21 – were allowed to join them.
FBI
Amy Bradley (pictured with her brother Brad) couldn’t wait to go on the ultra-high-end cruise with her family – but she vanished without trace on the trip in 1998[/caption]
FBI
Amy on the once-in-a-lifetime cruise with her parents[/caption]
The family toured the Caribbean on board the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise linerShe was last seen dancing in the cruise ship’s nightclub
The lively, vivacious young woman, who had soon made friends among staff and passengers, often stayed up with brother Brad after their parents headed back to the cabin on the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise liner.
On the third night aboard she was letting her hair down and planned to head to the ship’s nightclub after bidding Iva and Ron goodnight.
“I said ‘I love you’ as I headed back to the cabin, and she said, ‘I love you, too, Mom. I’ll see you in the morning.’ And we went to bed,” recalls Iva.
But Iva was not to see her fun-loving daughter ever again. Somehow, during the early hours of the morning of March 24, 1998, she vanished.
Did she drunkenly fall overboard, take her own life, or hide on the ship and leave when it docked the following day – or was she taken against her will?
There have been many theories over the years and several ‘sightings’ of Amy, but one thing is for certain – her family are convinced she is still alive.
“Twenty seven years of looking for Amy every day. It’s a life goal,” says Iva. “In my quiet times it’s like, ‘What did we miss?’ I know somebody knows something.”
Amy’s disappearance is examined in the new three-part Netflixdocumentary Amy Bradley Is Missing, which explores the various leads and purported sightings over the years with interviews from suspects, family and friends.
On that fateful night, the ship had just left Aruba when Ron and Iva went to bed around 1am.
“We went up to the disco because that was the last place that was open,” says Brad.
“We weren’t ready to turn in yet. We were having drinks and listening to music and having a great time.”
After a while he indicated to Amy, above the noise, that they should call it a night and he headed back to the cabin at 3.35am.
“My parents were sleeping,” he remembers. “I went out onto the balcony and five minutes later, Amy came back to the room.
They could hear him talking inside of his room, even over the sound of the loud TV or radio. I thought, ‘Well, who’s he talking to?
Wayne Breitag
“We were both finishing our drinks and hanging out and talking about the next day. She brought up that someone she had been dancing and talking to during the course of the evening made some sort of physical pass at her.
“She told me it was the bass player from the band. She didn’t make a big deal of it, just mentioned it in passing.
“At that point we were both tipsy. It was time for bed. She said, ‘I don’t feel too good. I’m going to sit right here with all the fresh air and the wind.’
“I told her I loved her and would see her tomorrow and shut the glass door behind me and I went to bed.”
Vanished
Netflix
Amy’s brother Brad (right) was convinced he heard her voice while looking for her[/caption]
Netflix
Ron Bradley last saw his daughter at 5:30am on the balcony[/caption]
Brad would not see her again – but her father did, briefly.
“I remember waking somewhere around 5.30 in the morning,” says Ron. “Brad had come in and gone to bed, but I didn’t see Amy in there.
“I saw her legs and feet, sitting in a lounge chair on the balcony, and told myself, ‘Well, she’s safe.’
“About six o’clock, something woke me again. I don’t know what it was but when I looked out, she wasn’t there.
“I noticed that the balcony door was open about 12 to 14 inches, the shirt that she had on that night was laying on the chair in the room and her cigarettes weren’t there.
I saw her legs and feet, sitting in a lounge chair on the balcony, and told myself, ‘Well, she’s safe’
Ron Bradley
“So I’m thinking she’s changed her clothes and has left the room to get a coffee and take pictures, because we were coming into port.”
Amy’s shoes were on the balcony neatly placed beside the little table.
“I left the room, leaving the others asleep and figured that I would find her in a few minutes and then everything would be good,” says Ron.
“But when I didn’t, that’s when I came back and told Iva, ‘I can’t find Amy’.”
Alarmed
When Ron couldn’t find Amy, he told his wife and they raised the alarmNETFLIX
Curacao harbour police chief Adtzere ‘John’ Mentar believes Amy’s body would have washed up had she gone overboard[/caption]
Becoming increasingly concerned, Ron and Iva reported their daughter’s disappearance at the purser’s desk and a call went out over the tannoy system asking for her to make contact.
By now people were starting to disembark for the next stop, Curacao.
“They were still all going on their merry way, laughing, talking, and there we were, looking for our daughter. It was what nightmares are made of,” says Ron.
At 9am a full search of the ship by staff found no trace of Amy.
The immediate assumption was that she had gone overboard and so a search took place at sea between Curacao and Aruba involving the Venezuelan Coast Guard and Navy.
“Our waters have a very strong current, so something should wash ashore,” says Curacao harbour police chief, Adtzere ‘John’ Mentar.
They were still all going on their merry way, laughing, talking, and there we were, looking for our daughter. It was what nightmares are made of
Ron Bradley
“Because of the position of the boat, wind force, sea current, wave height, the body would have washed up. But she was nowhere to be found.
“We have sharks but the shark will not eat her completely. Something, maybe a leg or an arm, would have washed ashore. It is very strange.”
The incident hit news headlines and two days after Amy went missing the FBI boarded the ship, but were frustrated to find that if there was any evidence in the cabin, it had been cleaned away by room service.
The Bradleys were all interviewed together and separately.
“I said to Iva, ‘You understand why they are interviewing us separately? It’s because we’re suspects,’” Ron recalls.
Ultimately the FBI found no evidence that led them to consider a family member was responsible.
Mystery conversation
Amy, who was born in Petersburg, Virginia in May 1974, had come out as gay not long before she went on the cruiseNetflix
Alistair Douglas, known as ‘Yellow’, partied with Amy on the night she disappeared[/caption]
NETFLIX
Lori Thompson claimed she saw Amy on the night she disappeared chatting to Yellow[/caption]
Establishing an accurate timeline leading up to Amy’s disappearance has been difficult.
What is certain is that she returned to the cabin at 3.40am from the nightclub, because the electronic key card kept a record.
But no one knows if she left the room after that as the key is not used when exiting.
The FBI also interviewed others of interest, such as Wayne Breitag, the passenger in the adjoining cabin.
“I told them that I saw Amy Bradley at the disco that night around two o’clock because I went there to see what was going on and I just observed and sat down and, yeah, looking for girls, whatever,” he says.
“That night I probably was back in the room by 2.30… I don’t remember hearing anything from their room. That’s why it was a real surprise to me that this stuff happened.”
Iva says: “I told the FBI, Wayne Breitag would come out on his balcony next to us and lean over the partition to talk to Amy.
“He was just odd. The passengers in the cabin on the other side of him said that after Amy disappeared, his TV or radio was at a level of, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’
“They could hear him talking inside of his room, even over the sound of the loud TV or radio. I thought, ‘Well, who’s he talking to?’”
We have sharks but the shark will not eat her completely. Something, maybe a leg or an arm, would have washed ashore. It is very strange
Adtzere ‘John’ Mentar
After posters of Amy were pasted up on the ship, several people came forward to talk to the investigators, including Chris Fenwick.
He worked for a computer company in San Francisco that had organised a trip for its top sales people and had been editing some footage that his cameraman had been taking at the nightclub that evening for a ‘highlights reel’.
“I remember seeing Amy. She was the life and soul of the party,” he says.
“I went through my box of tapes and until I found her and she’s dancing with Yellow.”
Yellow was the nickname of the bass guitarist in the band, Alister Douglas.
Lori Thompson, then 18, told the FBI that she and her friend had got talking with Amy at the nightclub and later, between five and six in the morning.
She claimed she saw Amy and Yellow in the glass elevator going up to the nightclub even though it was closed. Then, 10 to 15 minutes later, she said Yellow walked briskly past them alone, without saying a word.
“I thought it was strange because in the nightclub he had tried to get us to talk to him,” Lori says. “I got a bad vibe. Immediately I thought, ‘Where’s Amy?’”
In his interview with the FBI, Yellow admitted that he knew who Amy was and had flirted with her, but said that was the kind of thing he does.
In a polygraph test he vehemently denied having anything to do with her disappearance. The results were not conclusive and the FBI released him due to having no evidence to charge him in Amy’s disappearance.
Sex trafficking fear
FBI
The family was emailed pictures in May 2001 of a woman who resembled Amy, posing provocatively on a prostitution website in the Venezuela area[/caption]
Back home in Virginia the family felt powerless, so Ron and Brad returned to Curacao to hold a press conference.
Afterwards they were approached by a taxi driver, named Deshi, who said he had spoken to a frantic-looking Amy on the island when she asked for directions to a phone box.
“He said, ‘You need to go to Kadushi Cliffs and look around but don’t talk to anybody because it was dangerous’,” recalls Ron.
It was the first indication Amy was alive. Worried about their safety, harbour police chief Adtzere ‘John’ Mentar accompanied them.
“Curacao is a very lovely island but the crime we have here is drug-related because we are not too far from Venezuela,” says John.
“We also have some prostitution on the island and sometimes sex trafficking. She could have been lured off the ship. Someone might be able to sweet-talk her.”
We also have some prostitution on the island and sometimes sex trafficking. She could have been lured off the ship. Someone might be able to sweet-talk her
Adtzere ‘John’ Mentar
On a remote car trip at one o’clock in the morning, Brad was sure he heard his sister.
He says: “We were driving along this little dirt path and I distinctly heard Amy’s voice say, ‘Brad!’ in what seemed like a vehicle that was passing us.
“I freaked out and spun around and asked everybody if they heard it and they said they did.
“We turned round and followed the car into a backstreet, fully expecting we were going to pull the guy over and she would be in the car, but it ended up being just an old dude by himself.
“I know what it sounds like when Amy calls me. This was very distinct. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life that that’s what I heard.”
Beach sighting
David Carmichael believes he saw Amy and two men walking towards them along the beachBill Hefner claims he met a white girl with tattoos who told him her name was Amy Bradley in a bar in Curacao, and she was being held there against her will by armed menThe FBI released computer generated pictures of what they thought Amy might look like at 42 years oldFederal Bureau of Investigation
Ron is also convinced his daughter is still alive.
Over the years there have been several more credible sightings, often from people whose memories have been jolted after the family has appealed for information on TV chat shows.
Among the identifying features was a distinctive tattoo of the Tasmanian Devil cartoon animal on Amy’s left shoulder blade.
David Carmichael told the FBI that he and his friend had been on a diving trip at Porto Maries, Curacao, when he was convinced he saw Amy and two men walking towards them along the beach.
He noticed her Tasmanian Devil tattoo and was about to say something when he was unsettled by the larger man staring at him. He believes the other man was Alister Douglas.
We were driving along this little dirt path and I distinctly heard Amy’s voice say, ‘Brad!’ in what seemed like a vehicle that was passing us… I know what it sounds like when Amy calls me. This was very distinct. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life that that’s what I heard
Brad Bradley
Bill Heffner, from Nevada, said he was in the US Navy in January 1999 when he walked into a bar in Curacao and met a white girl with tattoos who told him her name was Amy Bradley, and she was being held there against her will by armed men.
“I had heard all kinds of stories from working girls in Singapore and Thailand and I just kind of took it with a pinch of salt and I left,” he says.
“It wasn’t until 2001 when I saw her picture in a magazine feature that I connected the dots.”
The family was emailed pictures in May 2001 of a woman who resembled Amy, posing provocatively on a prostitution website in the Venezuela area.
An FBI forensic analyst studied the photos, measured things like the chin, ear and eyes, and believed that it was Amy. But police enquiries led nowhere.
Eerie ‘premonition’
Amy was in a relationship with a woman but kissed another girl, causing a rift between themAmy’s then-girlfriend Mollie McClure says she received a note from Amy before she went missing with references to the sea, which she believes made it ripe for misinterpretationAmy had adopted a dog not long before the trip
At college Amy had come out as gay to her family and friends.
In 1998, she told her girlfriend, Mollie McClure, that she had kissed another girl after they had been drinking, but that it didn’t mean anything and that it had helped confirm her feelings for Mollie.
But Mollie told her that she needed time to process this and stopped answering her calls, so she sent Mollie a letter – a message in a bottle – asking for her forgiveness.
It has a heart-aching resonance of her going missing at sea with the comment: “I feel like there is an ocean between us. Like I’m on a desert island waiting for you to rescue me. A message in a bottle is my only hope. I miss you, Mollie. Save me please. Stranded, Amy.”
Mollie says there have been suspicions that this note, which she sent one month before her disappearance, may have had deeper meaning.
“Because of the circumstances of her going missing a month to the day that she sent me this letter, and also it being a message in a bottle, the convenience of the metaphor is ripe for misunderstanding,” says Mollie.
“It could suggest suicide but I don’t connect with it in that way. For me, it is a love letter.
Because of the circumstances of her going missing a month to the day that she sent me this letter, and also it being a message in a bottle, the convenience of the metaphor is ripe for misunderstanding. It could suggest suicide but I don’t connect with it in that way. For me, it is a love letter
Mollie McClure
“After the message I reached out to her and we got together a few days before she left for the cruise.
“She wanted me to meet the dog she had adopted and to see her new apartment. I knew we were going to make it work and we had planned that we would see each other after the cruise at Easter.
“She was incredibly excited about the trip. She had written me a postcard that arrived after I had got word she was missing. I’m a photographer so she referenced taking photos and then she said, ‘I wish you were here’.”
Wherever she is now remains a mystery, but the Bradleys will never give up their search.
“We’ve lost a lot of years of our life, searching, but we won’t stop,” says Iva.
“Somebody knows something. We were told by an FBI agent, ‘Keep your lights on. Nobody can keep a secret their entire life’.”
“We keep her car in the garage at home, out of the weather and polished,” adds Ron.
“It’s going to be pristine when she gets here. And then she’ll get to drive it again.”
Amy Bradley Is Missing is available to stream on Netflix from today.
Mum Iva says she was told the truth will eventually emerge by the FBI
THE future of the $1 trillion megacity The Line is hanging on by a thread as Saudi rulers are checking the “feasibility” of the mad scandal-hit vanity project.
YOU’RE enjoying a night out – partying with friends – when suddenly you begin to feel woozy, you feel your heartbeat increase, you start to see hallucinations and you find you can’t even speak.
Then you black out, waking up hours or even days later with no memory of what has just happened – you may have been spiked with a terrifying drug known as the “Devil’s Breath”.
Alamy
Devil’s Breath comes from the seeds of the Borrachero tree[/caption]
SWNS
Deborah Oscar was left fearing for her safety after being “spiked” with the drug[/caption]
Tourists and revellers around the globe fear they are being targeted with the mysterious drug – which is said to turn people into “zombies”.
It has been linked to tens of thousands of crimes in South America – and is even behind several deaths.
It’s also been reported in European holiday hotspots, including in the UK.
Officially called scopolamine, the “Devil’s Breath” is derived from the toxic Borrachero tree from South America and it has become a weapon of choice for criminals.
Once tested by the CIA as a truth serum, the drug renders its victims powerless, compliant, and blank — leaving them unable to resist, and often unable to recall anything afterwards.
A leading UK addiction specialist told The Sun that the misuse of Devil’s Breath could pose one of the most dangerous threats to the public – with it being used by criminals in robberies, assaults and sexual attacks.
And a top Spanish anti-drug cop has issued a warning to tourists – telling them be on the lookout for Devil’s Breath in party hotspots.
Meanwhile, a British woman who claims to have been spiked with the mind-warping drug also issued a stark warning to both holidaymakers and people on nights out.
Zaheen Ahmed, director at UK Addiction Treatment, told The Sun the drug can cause terrifying symptoms – with users becoming vulnerable almost instantly, with symptoms likened to sedation, confusion, and memory loss, he explained.
“It will create hallucinations,” Mr Ahmed said.
“A person will have difficulty around their thinking. That’s why people use it in criminal activity… it can be a really dangerous weapon.
“It can be one of the world’s most dangerous [drugs], given what it can do to people if it’s used the wrong way.”
And he described how the drug’s method of administration makes it far more threatening than typical date-rape drugs.
He explained: “For example, with other drugs, they have to mix it and someone has to digest it.
“But with Devil’s Breath, someone can hold it in their hand and just blow it on your face — so how are you going to protect yourself?”
‘EERIE AND VERY ODD’
The drug has already been implicated in several chilling deaths.
In 2019, Irish dancer Adrian Murphy was murdered in London after being poisoned with scopolamine by a woman he met on Grindr.
She and her boyfriend were convicted of his murder and the attempted murder of another man.
More recently, Alessandro Coatti, a 42-year-old British-based scientist, was discovered dismembered in Santa Marta, Colombia.
Lured via a dating app, investigators suspect he was drugged before being brutally murdered.
His severed limbs were scattered across the city — a hotel wristband was all that remained to identify him.
Devil’s Breath is now feared to be making its way into UK cities – with one woman Deborah Oscar believing she narrowly escaped an attack while riding the Elizabeth Line.
She told The Sun: “I suddenly felt very peaceful. Like the first few seconds when you have anaesthesia before a surgery.”
The 30-year-old content creator said she was riding a nearly empty train when a woman wafted a newspaper in her face, stared intently, and sat beside her.
Moments later, Deborah said she felt lightheaded and unnaturally calm.
“I assumed she was a confused tourist about to ask for directions,” she recalled.
“But she just maintained eye contact — it felt eerie and very odd.”
Deborah managed to escape by switching carriages and disembarking early — a decision she now believes may have saved her life.
“If I hadn’t seen those videos, I would probably have just sat there and I don’t know what would have happened.”
Her TikTok story has since gone viral, with 20 people in the UK saying they had similar experiences, and hundreds more abroad sharing suspicions of being drugged with scopolamine.
“The criminals know there are few repercussions,” she said.
“What can you do when you tell the police you gave someone your own phone or bag?”
She added: “Nobody wants to be rude or appear paranoid. But it’s better to recognise the situation and flee and be safe than to take a risk.”
British Transport Police confirmed they are aware of the video – but no formal report has been filed.
And Transport for London also said they were investigating the incident – describing it as “extremely frightening”.
While Mr Ahmed stressed the need for toxicology information, he didn’t rule out the possibility of Deborah being exposed to scopolamine in the reported attack.
He said: “It is a high chance this can happen easily… there are drugs available that can instantly affect a human being.
“If that’s the case [the attack was made with scopolamine], it will completely change the whole game — how people are going to rob people, snatch things… the situation will become really dangerous.”
SWNS
The 30-year-old suspects she was spiked on a London train with ‘Devil’s Breath’ drug[/caption]
Jacob Irwin-Cline claims he was also spiked with the ‘Devil’s Breath’ in London
And Deborah is not the only person who claims to have been hit with the drug in the UK.
American tourist and crypto investor Jacob Irwin-Cline, 30, claims to have been spiked and robbed while in a fake Uber in London.
He claims he was robbed for around £100,000 after smoking a cigarette laced with what he believes was Devil’s Breath.
Irwin-Cline says he was offered the smoke by the driver – but then started to feel dazed, drowsy and passed out after a leaving a Soho nightclub.
He claimed he was left “really docile” and has vague memories of the driver asking him for his passkeys on his crypto apps.
He then passed out after around 30 minutes.
The US tech whiz suspects he was hit with scopolamine, the Devil’s Breath, during the suspected spiking on May 9.
What is Devil’s Breath?
REPORTS of the Devil’s Breath drug have been seen across South American, Europe and even in the UK.
Some people may 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
Hermelo Molero warned about the use of the Devil’s Breath in Spain
Hermelo Molero, a top Spanish anti-drug cop based in Bilbao, issued a chilling warning to tourists on how they can be targeted – especially in nightlife-heavy spots abroad.
Spain recorded its first case of the zombie drug being used in 2016 – when a 36-year-old woman in Majorca tested positive for the substance.
He told The Sun: “It is always related to nightlife, especially crowded nightclubs.
“In summer, it is common to look for places full of tourists where the victim is even more defenceless.”
What’s more chilling is that the substance isn’t just used for theft – but more heinous crimes too.
Mr Molero continued: “This type of substance is used for crimes against property [robbery] and sexual aggression, as these drugs are used to subdue the victims, who do not have the same defence options.”
Alongside being wafted in victim’s faces, the drug is “easily dissolved in drinks” – with criminals using “the victim’s carelessness with a drink that is being ingested,” the drug chief explained.
He added: “Generally, when it is to steal, the offenders are usually two or more people, especially if they have the intention of not only stealing your belongings but also want to steal from your home or hotel.
“If the interest is sexual, it is usually a sexual predator who acts individually.”
Mr Molero warned holidaymakers to “always keep your drinks under control” and stressed the importance of maintaining “a high level of awareness” as “if we are very drunk we will hardly be able to control our drinks”.
He said: “If it is a bottle use the stopper to protect it and if it is a glass it is not a bad option to put a paper napkin over [it].”
Mr Ahmed recommends the public stay cautious in crowded spaces and consider basic protective measures.
“If someone is blowing [powder], they might wear a mask or something that will protect them,” he said.
Chemical hypnosis
Just 10 milligrams of scopolamine can obliterate a person’s free will.
The drug disrupts memory formation and suppresses higher brain function, leaving the victim suggestible and eerily cooperative – handing over PINs, passwords, and valuables without hesitation.
Criminal gangs in Colombia are dispersing the drug in drinks, gum, cigarettes — even business cards soaked in the substance — often after luring victims via dating apps like Tinder or Grindr.
Grapefruit juice enhances the drug’s potency, slowing its breakdown and increasing absorption in the gut.
In Bogotá and Medellín, the tactics are disturbingly creative: sprinkled scopolamine on jackets, ATMs, even elevator buttons.
Victims faint, blackout, or enter a dream-like obedience state — all before realising what’s happened.
UK-based scientist Alessandro Coatti was poisoned in Colombiarsb.orgAdrian Murphy was poisoned with the “Devil’s Breath” drug before being murdered in LondonAFP
Tourists in Colombia are being targeted by gangs wielding a terrifying drug known as Devil’s Breath[/caption]
Tourist deaths in Colombia – many of them drug linked – surged by 29% last year, and Medellín saw a 200% spike in Devil’s Breath robberies in the final quarter of 2023 alone.
The US Embassy has since issued a high-alert advisory, warning: “Use of dating apps can increase your risk.”
One of the alleged masterminds is Carolina Mejía Montoya, 27, dubbed The Queen of Scopolamine.
The ‘Scopolamine Queen’
She is believed to have led a multimillion-peso theft ring in Medellín, using her looks to charm foreign tourists before drugging and stripping them of cash, cards, and jewellery.
CCTV shows her ushering victims into short-term rentals — where they were later found drugged and confused.
On one night alone, she allegedly stole 120 million pesos from two men.
Despite previously being placed under house arrest, she vanished and continued her spree — until police finally caught up with her.
‘You do anything they say’
The impact of Devil’s Breath is described by victims as both hypnotic and terrifying.
Fernando, a 64-year-old from the UK, believes he fell victim while on a business trip to Bogotá back in 2012.
He told The Telegraph: “It’s very dangerous because you’re totally hypnotised, you do anything they say.”
After drinking what he suspects was a spiked beer, Fernando blacked out and woke up the following day with €1,000 missing.
CCTV later showed him returning to his hotel, retrieving a bank card from his safe, and leaving again—all while still under the drug’s influence.
“It does something to your brain where you forget completely… it’s like a vacuum,” he added.
Policía Metropolitana del Valle de Aburrá
Gang boss Carolina Meija Montoya arrested in Medellin[/caption]
TikTok / @soymanning2
A TikTok user known as “Manning” claimed he was drugged with scopolamine and attacked after connecting with someone through a dating app[/caption]
Robbed without remembering it
Others have faced even worse outcomes.
A Colombian TikTok user known as Juan Esteban “Manning” recounted being drugged after a Tinder date and waking up six hours later in a looted apartment, stripped of everything from designer clothes to flip-flops.
“It was the worst experience. I woke up and found myself lying in my apartment, a mess,” he said, according to Infobae.
Security footage showed his date calmly walking out with stolen suitcases.
And it’s not limited to nightlife or dating apps.
In Bogotá, attackers have used scopolamine in broad daylight — dusted on jackets, notebooks, even ATM keypads.
The drug’s power lies in its stealth — most victims don’t realise they’ve been exposed until far too late.
Many never report it out of confusion, embarrassment or shame.
Toxicology professor Kamyar Afarinkia explained the drug’s ease of use: “You can get a business card, soak it in [scopolamine], let it dry and then give it to somebody.
“When they touch it, unless they wash their hands quickly, it gets absorbed under their skin.”
In North Carolina, Charlotte resident Paranda Davis took to Facebook to sound the alarm after a close friend was allegedly drugged by a stranger.
“She remembered a Hispanic woman approaching her… and then everything went blank,” Davis wrote.
Hospital tests later confirmed Scopolamine was in her system, according to Davis.
“This incident happened right here in Charlotte, NC and I know the victim personally,” she posted.
“She gave me full permission to share her story in hopes of warning others.”
Davis urged followers to stay alert, noting criminals may “blow it in your face, lace your drink, or put it on paper, cards, or handshakes.”
Another Facebook user, Angela Moore, reposted Davis’ warning, adding: “This exactly what happened to me.”
Critics and doubts
Not all experts agree on the scale of the threat. Former government toxicologist Dr Les King argues the effects of scopolamine might be overstated.
He notes that the drug is a solid, not a gas, and claims it would be difficult to absorb enough through casual contact to incapacitate someone.
“Just picking up something that’s been impregnated with this drug is not going to cause you any harm,” Dr King said.
He added that other drugs like benzodiazepines may be behind many reported cases, citing a lack of toxicological evidence for scopolamine-related attacks.
But for Deborah — and many others — the danger feels very real.
“The more people that know,” she said, “the more people that might be able to help. Or help someone else who is being targeted.”
