Source: AFP
All Israeli expat Omer Bloch knows for sure about his Tinder date in the Colombian city of Medellin is that she was “beautiful” — and she used a powerful drug to knock him out and rob him.
A recent spate of what the US Embassy called the “suspicious” deaths of eight American men in Medellín has shone a spotlight on the dangers foreigners face using dating apps in the city.
“I matched with a girl on Tinder. Another girl, I thought. Another date,” the 28-year-old businessman recalled of his meeting in 2021.
After their dinner, he recalls they went back to his house for a beer, which tasted more “bitter” than usual, and then he remembers going in “for the kiss.”
He woke up the next day at noon, drenched and struggling to walk.
“He took my iPad, my phone, my wallet, my credit cards, my ID. Everything but my laptop,” she said.
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However, he was one of the lucky ones.
“That Could Have Been Me”
The US Embassy said it was aware of the deaths of eight citizens in the city between November 1 and December 31, 2023, many of which involved the use of dating apps.
“Many US citizens in Colombia have been drugged, robbed and even killed by their dates in Colombia,” read a travel guide, warning of the use of drugs to incapacitate victims.
Source: AFP
In one case, Asian-American comedian and activist Tou Ger Xiong, 50, was kidnapped after going to meet a woman he matched with online in December, the prosecutor’s office said.
His captors called a friend in the United States asking for $2,000. The victim was later found dead from “blunt force injuries”.
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“This could easily happen to me,” said Bloch, who still lives in Medellín.
Beautiful, deadly plant
Medical tests showed that Bloch had been administered scopolamine, or Devil’s Breath, an odorless powder that victims say puts you in a zombie state and which can prove fatal.
Scopolamine is extracted from the nightshade plant Brugmansia, which boasts large, pale, trumpet-shaped flowers.
Source: AFP
“The plant is widespread throughout the country. In urban areas it is common to find it in gardens because it has a very beautiful flower,” explained Diana Pava, a toxicologist with the Psychotropic Substances Research Group at the National University.
Criminals extract the drug from the black seeds of a fruit found on the plant and drop it into their victim’s drinks.
By ingesting it, “people can feel drowsy. Others get amnesia … there is also tachycardia, hypertension and seizures,” Pava said, adding that in high doses — and in combination with alcohol — it can be deadly.
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In 2022, prosecutors recorded the death of a foreigner in Medellin due to an “overdose of a toxic substance,” without naming the drug.
More tourists, more deaths
The birthplace of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, Medellín has overcome the drug violence of the 90s to become a coveted Latin American destination for tourists and expats.
Bloch describes himself as a digital nomad and, like many foreigners, resides in the El Poblado neighborhood, where luxury residential towers rise against a mountainous backdrop.
Tourism has boomed in the Andean city, with the number of foreign visitors growing from 212,000 in 2015 to 1.4 million in 2022.
But violent deaths “increase as the number of visitors increases,” William Vivas, a human rights defender in the mayor’s office, told AFP.
Source: AFP
The bureau recorded the deaths of 32 foreigners in 2023, seven percent more than the previous year.
In 2022, the prosecution dealt with 82 cases of robbery of foreigners using a “toxic substance”.
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The tourism boom has brought with it a rise in prostitution, which is legal in Colombia and lures so-called sexpats looking for a good time.
“We position ourselves as a very cool place,” but Medellín has also been sold as “a place of great tolerance,” said Jazmin Santa, a member of a group that fights sexual exploitation.
When Bloch shared his story on social media, he found little sympathy from locals, many of whom blame foreigners seeking sex tourism for their own plight.
“I agree with the locals. There are gringos that come in here and they’re nuts — they take advantage of the women.
“But the other side is what happens to the good guys who get oppressed,” he said, referring to the drug.
Source: AFP