Ripped from the headlines:
According to ABC News, a California couple vacationing in Italy were the victims of a heartless scam artist.
Apparently, the perpetrator struck up a conversation with them at a coffee shop and – after winning their trust – brought them each a cappuccino. Both cups were laced with drugs.
After being robbed, and obviously while heavily sedated, the male victim tragically was struck and killed by a train as he stumbled near some tracks. His wife was not hit by the train, and after being treated at a hospital in Rome, was released.
**********
It is very common for us to think in “context” or to categorize. We hear the words “date rape drug,”or hear about using drugs to victimize people, and we usually think about this in the context of a sexual assault against a woman or girl. The fact is, date rape drugs aren’t only used for rape – they are used for other crimes, too.
- In our travel safety class we cover the risks of such drugs being used to incapacitate unsuspecting folks, especially tourists, for the sake of crimes such as robbery.
We also talk about “trust building” as a means by which someone will gain your confidence, so that you categorize them as “friend” and not “foe” – so that the last thing you think is that this new “friend” would harm you.
“Trust building” combined with the malicious use of powerful drugs such as Rohypnol – which can be obtained with a prescription in Europe – can get anyone in trouble.
A big burly commercial pilot I know told me of an incident where he was on a layover in Japan. After just fifteen minutes in a very posh bar in a swanky part of Tokyo, he began to feel light-headed and “out of it.” He immediately realized what was going on and walked the short distance to his hotel and the safety of his room just before he passed out cold.
In the case of the couple in Rome, the robber brought the coffees to his victims, giving him the opportunity to slip in the drugs. In the pilot’s case, he felt the drug was put in his drink behind the bar before it was given to him.
You can never be too careful.
– Larry Kaminer