In Roanne, six young people were hospitalized after smoking a doctored cigarette offered by a stranger in the street. It could be a synthetic drug up to 400 times more potent than cannabis.
Psychosis sets in. In the city of Roanne (Loire), in the space of four days, six young people were hospitalized after having smoked a doctored cigarette offered in the street by a stranger. All lost consciousness and had their personal belongings stolen.
Jordan is one of the victims of this new kind of theft. Interviewed by France Info, the 17-year-old says he was approached by strangers on Sunday evening when he was with a friend in a city square. One of them offered them a cigarette. “I must have only taken two puffs and my friend took two or three as well. Within ten seconds my vision started to blur. Then I blacked out.” Jordan’s friend, who remained conscious, was able to alert passers-by. Their phones were stolen.
“I ate stones”
The website France Blue Saint-Etienne Loire reports that the two victims were found, one in an apathetic state, the other in a state of violence. “I was eating rocks,” says Jordan. Another victim tried to attack a firefighter who came to rescue her.
On Wednesday July 31, a new victim was hospitalized in a similar condition. “Since Saturday, four separate facts have been counted in Roanne and Le Coteau, which have claimed six victims in four days,” Roanne public prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini told AFP. The world.
An investigation was opened by the Roanne prosecutor’s office for “aggravated theft with violence and in meetings and by the administration of harmful substances”.
A drug 400 times more powerful than cannabis
“To identify the product in question, analyzes are in progress from residues of cigarette butts recovered and blood analyzes of the victims,” said the prosecution. The first results show the presence of tobacco on which a synthetic psychotropic drug has been sprayed, up to 400 times more powerful than cannabis.
While waiting to arrest those responsible, probably affiliated with local crime, the police are calling for caution. “I invite all young people who would be approached in this way to refuse any cigarette, or in any case not to share a cigarette with strangers,” said Abdelkrim Grini at the microphone of France Bleu Saint-Étienne-Loire.
A call for vigilance was also launched on social networks.
Sunday July 28 at 11:00 p.m. @VilledeRoanne two teenagers are approached by young people offering them visibly doctored cigarettes. After loss of consciousness, the victims were “stripped” of the ???? . Any precaution to take on this type of facts, dial 17. pic.twitter.com/O8n3PAE8SE
– National Police 42 (@PoliceNat42) July 30, 2019
.