A TikToker says she was spiked with an airborne “zombie drug” while on the London Underground.
Deborah Oscar, 30, alleges she was spiked with “devil’s breath” while travelling on the Elizabeth Line.
The substance has been dubbed “the world’s scariest drug” due to its fast-acting, hypnotic effects on both its victims and recreational users.
Shortly after departing from Abbey Wood on the Elizabeth line, Deborah began to feel uneasy as an unfamiliar, middle-aged woman approached her in an empty tube carriage.
Speaking to The Mirror, Deborah recalled that the woman, who she believed to be of South Asian descent, stood directly in front of her with a newspaper, followed by a brief moment of “awkward staring.” The woman waved the newspaper around, maintaining eye contact, and sat down next to her.
The TikToker, who has amassed a following of nearly one million users, explained that the newspaper “felt very light, almost like two pages of a newspaper folded together.”
Doing her best to ignore the woman, she scrolled on her phone and says she began to feel dizzy, the space around her “getting darker” and “spinning.”
After a moment of struggling to understand what was happening, she thought back to a video she’d seen a few weeks prior, explaining the dangers of the drug colloquially known as “devil’s breath” or the “zombie drug.”
The 30-year-old quickly moved carriages and exited the train, as two men “who appeared to know each other” observed her stepping onto the platform.
via Google Maps
The drug, clinically referred to as scopolamine, is extracted from nightshade plants. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it’s used to treat nausea, vomiting, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and even Parkinson’s disease.
When used in spiking incidents, it makes its victims exceptionally compliant and submissive – effects which criminals sometimes take advantage of to either rob or coerce their victim into drawing out money from the bank.
Despite only recently being used as a tool for spiking victims in the UK, the drug has a long history of illicit administration in South America. London-based scientist Alessandro Coatti, found dead while on holiday in Santa Marta, Colombia earlier this year, is thought to have been targeted by the drug.
After uploading her frightening experience on TikTok, Deborah received messages from 20 other people who claimed to have faced similar experiences in the UK, as well as hundreds of others who shared they were also spiked while travelling abroad.
Oscar has been quick to inform others about her experience, saying people must “stay alert and vigilant. Nobody wants to be rude or appear paranoid, but it’s better to recognise the situation and to flee and be safe, than to take a risk.”
If you experience something similar on the London Underground, you can contact the British Transport Police via their website or by texting 61016.
Featured image via Google Maps and SWNS
