Drugs and murder, girls trap Americans

Through a dating app, a series of mysterious deaths of several American men have occurred in Colombia.

Eh Xiong, the brother of Tou Ger, a missing 50-year-old American Hmong-American community activist from Minnesota, tells BCC “He was talking about people with big souls… he was just enjoying life. He was even taking Spanish lessons."

Before his trip to Medellin, Colombia, he had spoken to a woman online. In mid-December, a few weeks after his visit, he calls his brother and asks for $2,000, but doesn't tell him why he wants it. After transferring the money, Eh Xiong never heard from his brother again.

The next day, the police found Tou Geri's body in a remote area of ​​the city. A friend in Medellin explained to his brother that he had been kidnapped and held at gunpoint for a $2,000 ransom.

Eh Xiong said that “I didn't want to believe it. I didn't know if it was really happening. My heart broke." He tried to contact the US embassy, ​​where they this week arrested a woman and two men in connection with his death, charging them with kidnapping and murder. It is not clear whether he first met the woman through a dating app or through friends.

His death is 1 in 8 in Medellin that prompted a warning from the US embassy about the dangers of using dating apps. These 8 victims were Americans who died in November and December under suspicious circumstances. The US State Department says it was aware of a gang in the city that used dating apps to isolate victims before kidnapping and killing them.

The US Embassy says some of these cases started with a dating app used to lure victims and that there is a worrying increase in people ending up "drugged, robbed and even killed by their Colombian dates".

Former director of the city's tourism observatory, Carlos Calle, said it is common for criminals to drug tourists with scopolamine, an odorless substance known as "Devil's Breath." The US embassy also warned about this drug that puts victims to sleep for up to 24 hours.