Guayaquil, Ecuador: scopolamine not only drug used to incapacitate victims

eluniverso.com (machine translated)

Restricted substances are used in thefts of individuals

They blow a substance from a piece of paper, they give them a towel, they touch them, they apply some substance to them, like perfumes, or they give them some drink and minutes later they lose their will to act or the knowledge, the victims tell.

Some victims do not remember anything and when they wake up they are abandoned on the streets, without their belongings. Others report, in their complaints in the Office of the Prosecutor, that they advanced to the tellers and gave the keys to their credit and debit cards and other valuables. They say they felt ‘stunned’, without the strength to refuse what the antisocials asked.

But not in all cases do criminals use scopolamine to drug their victims and dispossess them of their belongings, say doctors consulted by this Journal. Sleeping agents, sleeping pills, marijuana, cocaine and other substances are also used by offenders to commit their misdeeds.

Victims are not only adults. There are also teenagers who have been doped or drugged, according to their parents, through deception and then have taken away their assets, such as cell phones and backpacks.

William Muñoz, Coordinator of Critical Areas of the public hospital Abel Gilbert, says that in the fortnight and at the end of the month they have a high incidence of care for people who arrive with effects of having been drugged with scopolamine and other substances.

According to the physician, only 100 mg of scopolamine (less than one pill powder) is needed to kill an adult and 10 mg to kill a child.

Disorientation, drowsiness, restless breathing are the most visible symptoms of an intoxication by this type of substances, he says, they become deadly when they compromise the respiratory and cardiac system, which leads to the death of the patient.

Benzodiazepines (psychotropic medications with sedative effects) and amphetamines (nervous system stimulants) are also used by criminals to commit different crimes, says Gray Ramirez, a senior chemist in the area of Police Criminalistics, where they conduct sample analyzes with drugs that Are sent by court order.

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Of the samples that arrive, 5% corresponds to benzodiazepines, which are mixed with drinks and other drugs, to induce sleep.

“Sometimes there are the guys in the clubs, they give them drinks with these substances, so they can rape or commit some crime,” Ramírez says.

And although in the country these drugs can only be sold with prescriptions, some people get them and use them to commit a crime, according to the specialist. (I)

Passenger drugged him
Informal taxi driver. It was in his black Chevrolet on the av. Narcisa de Jesús when two men asked for a race to Chimborazo and Cuenca. One of the passengers showed him a paper and soon lost consciousness. He does not remember anything. His car was taken away. (I)

I was waiting for the bus
Teen victim. He was waiting for the bus at 18:00 in the terminal and while a woman insisted on getting his attention, a man pushed her. He does not remember anymore. Another lady helped her, but she did not have the cell phone or $ 10. In the urine test came leftover drug. (I)

I was in restaurant
They gave him drink. A subject in apparent ethyl state began giving drinks to his friends. The complainant remembers that he took away his property and that he and two friends got into the car of the stranger, which was a woman. They took the cell phone, $ 400, credit cards. (I)

Cheated students
He asked for help. He showed them a cedula and told them to help him push the car. The 14-year-old gave him a ticket to go to the gas station. He then sent the 13-year-old to give him a key. They took their cell phones, backpacks and a ball. They felt nauseous, discomfort and dizziness.