magicsurfbus
Free Member
A new twist on the hoary old gassing chestnut?
Some friends of ours had their tent broken into and ransacked on the first night of their holiday on a campsite in the Loire. The husband is still kicking himself for not having divided up and secured the holiday money before their arrival - it was all in his wallet, and it all went. These are people we know - it's not a friend of a friend tale.
Six other units were also broken into at the same time and robbed. When the Police investigated, two holes were found in each of the tents, one small, and one large. They were told quite clearly by the Police officers that the small hole was used to introduce narcotic gas, and the large one was used to get into the tent once the occupants were knocked out, and this was an established form of robbery in the area.
Our friends said they felt no physical side effects in the morning - no headache, no hangover, no nausea (other than feeling sick about their missing moolah).
This raises some interesting possibilities doesn't it?
1. The Police are correct and the mad gassers are out there using weapons grade narcotic gas of the kind that was so disasterously deployed in the 2002 Moscow Theatre siege, where many hostages died of its effects. However, nobody has died of deliberate narcotic gassing in a tent, caravan or camper van yet have they?
2. The Loire Police have fallen hook line and sinker for the urban legend, and have disregarded the evidence from professional anaesthetists who say you can't knock anyone out with anaesthetic gas without putting a mask on them, and even then it's a very precise process involving constant monitoring.
Now please don't shoot the messenger here - I'm simply relating it as we were told it by people we know first-hand.
Personally, despite the above tale, I still remain sceptical and much more inclined to believe option 2, until the French Police are photographed with a captured gasser and his dastardly gassing kit. I just thought I'd chuck it into the mix because the source of the tale was closer to home than usual.
Some friends of ours had their tent broken into and ransacked on the first night of their holiday on a campsite in the Loire. The husband is still kicking himself for not having divided up and secured the holiday money before their arrival - it was all in his wallet, and it all went. These are people we know - it's not a friend of a friend tale.
Six other units were also broken into at the same time and robbed. When the Police investigated, two holes were found in each of the tents, one small, and one large. They were told quite clearly by the Police officers that the small hole was used to introduce narcotic gas, and the large one was used to get into the tent once the occupants were knocked out, and this was an established form of robbery in the area.
Our friends said they felt no physical side effects in the morning - no headache, no hangover, no nausea (other than feeling sick about their missing moolah).
This raises some interesting possibilities doesn't it?
1. The Police are correct and the mad gassers are out there using weapons grade narcotic gas of the kind that was so disasterously deployed in the 2002 Moscow Theatre siege, where many hostages died of its effects. However, nobody has died of deliberate narcotic gassing in a tent, caravan or camper van yet have they?
2. The Loire Police have fallen hook line and sinker for the urban legend, and have disregarded the evidence from professional anaesthetists who say you can't knock anyone out with anaesthetic gas without putting a mask on them, and even then it's a very precise process involving constant monitoring.
Now please don't shoot the messenger here - I'm simply relating it as we were told it by people we know first-hand.
Personally, despite the above tale, I still remain sceptical and much more inclined to believe option 2, until the French Police are photographed with a captured gasser and his dastardly gassing kit. I just thought I'd chuck it into the mix because the source of the tale was closer to home than usual.