Devil’s Breath: Is the ‘world’s most dangerous drug’ really in Dhaka?

Muhammad Afzal was standing on the edge of Panthapanth on the road towards Karwan Bazar on a busy Wednesday. 

His CNG-run autorickshaw had just broken down, and he stood beside it, waiting to hail another. 

It was around 6:30pm. Traffic was in full swing and the road was full of people. 

Suddenly, a man, his face covered with a cloth, began approaching Afzal, brandishing a trodden-looking business card.

The gesture was one of requiring help. Before Afzal could engage, passersby warned him: Don't talk to the man, he will drug you. 

But how could someone drug another in the middle of rush hour? 

A number of videos shared on social media show this exact sequence playing out. One man approaches another, hands him a piece of paper, and then suddenly blows something on the victim's face. 

The victim reaches a trance immediately and willingly hands over their belongings.

The entire crime is carried out through the help of the "Devil's Breath", known as the world's most dangerous drug. 

But what is Devil's Breath? 

Meet the Devil

Devil's Breath is derived from the flower of the "borrachero" shrub, common in the South American country of Colombia.

This street drug — also known as scopolamine or hyoscine — is available in prescription form, too.

The US State Department notes on its website that scopolamine can render a victim unconscious for 24 hours or more. 

In Colombia, where its use seems to be most widespread, "unofficial estimates" of scopolamine events are at roughly 50,000 per year. 

In large doses, it can cause "respiratory failure and death". However, these effects are due to oral administration in "liquid or powder form in foods and beverages", not being blown into one's face or absorbed via a piece of soaked paper. 

Route to Bangladesh

A team of the police's Detective Branch seized Devil's Breath in Bangladesh for the first time in September 2023. 

Two people from Narayanganj were also arrested for their involvement in selling the drug on an online platform.

Police had seized 10 grammes of scopolamine, 1.2 litres of Potassium Cyanide, 2.5 litres of Chloroform, six mobile phones, one laptop and one register book from their possession.

The arrest followed a murder case filed over the recovery of the body of a Northern University teacher from the side of a road in the Purbachal area of Narayangan's Rupganj upazila in August that year.

Speaking to the media at the time, Golam Mostofa, the then superintendent of police of Narayanganj, expressed surprise at the seizure. 

"We have seen different drugs like crystal meth at different times. But it is a new name; I myself heard it for the first time and learned about it after some studying. This drug is so powerful that, whoever takes it, they lose their normal consciousness and control over themself for a few hours," he said.

Fighting the devil

By the time Afzal returned home, he had done all the research he could on Devil's Breath. 

He felt relief and was thankful to those around him, who saved him from becoming the victim of a crime. 

But the relief was short-lived, Afzal wondered if he would be able to act fast enough the next time it happened. 

Interestingly, the reputation of Devil's Breath is considered to be more myth than grounded in reality. 

The drug has seen its spread in many different countries. 

"You get these scare stories and they have no toxicology, so nobody knows what it is," Val Curran, professor of pharmacology at UCL's Clinical Pharmacology Unit told The Guardian back in 2015, when the menacing drug was being reported around Europe.

"The idea that it is scopolamine is a bit far-fetched because it could be anything," said Curran.

Dr Les King, chemist and former forensic scientist, also said the idea that someone could become zombified after someone blows powder into their face "seems pretty unlikely for a start".

Back in Dhaka, while Devil's Breath has spread on social media, the reality on the ground is different.

Speaking to The Business Standard, Mohammad Mobarak Hossain, officer-in-charge of Tejgaon Police Station, said not a single case detailing the use of Devil's Breath for a crime had been registered. 

The Business Standard also reached out to Mohammadpur, Hatirjheel, and Tejgaon police, all of whom said they had yet to get any complaint regarding Devil's Breath. 

Despite these accounts, fear about the possible use of Devil's Breath continues. 

In 2021, Hong Kong was also under its spell, with many reporting a kind of dust being blown into their face. This is all they remember, until jolting back to reality to find their bank accounts drained. 

The Devil's Breath's legacy endures for now, despite any evidence of it being used.