Motorhome Gas Attack First Hand Account (1 Viewer)

[eddie]

I'm new to this forum, just paid subs so hello to all.
wrt this alleged"gassing", I'm ex forces and a biology teacher of 30 years and I have to say that Eddievanbitz is spot on, can't fault anything he has said. I can address some of his points but none of which would affect the outcome of his discourse. A good summation, well done.
Regards to all
Martyn

Hi Martyn, Welcome to Motorhome FUN, it is a great forum.

Thank you for your comments

Eddie

 

[Scattycat]

I have to say over the years I've been a real sceptic regarding being gassed while in the camper, but last night it really did happen to us . . . . from now on the dog sleeps outside.

 

[haganap]

any one want to buy a motorhome?

I can no longer take the risk.

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[rangi]

i wonder what [HI]benefit someone feels from making such claims [/HI]

gassed by Itinerant's then a year later robbed on an aire.

I am afraid [HI]insurance scam [/HI]comes to mind.
Steve[/QUOTE]


Who mentioned the 5000 Euros and the Gold Rolex

Had a neighbour in Sydney who got caught in a bush fire (so he told the Insurance Co) He had to abandon the Car which got destroyed,
BUToh:
In the Boot was a brand new Stil Chainsaw, Lawn Mower, a weed eater and two Skillis, all brand newoh: They wouldn't even pay the claim on the Car, let alone the rest



Now then where's 15th century solid Platinum Tiara, containing 56 Carats of Black Opals Mrs R going to take to Chester :Cool:

 

[lorger]

Have to agree with what eddievanbitz said although I don't think I'd tackle his made up family especially Chardonnay


P.s.
I do hope they are made up

 

[eddie]

Have to agree with what eddievanbitz said although I don't think I'd tackle his made up family especially Chardonnay


P.s.
I do hope they are made up

They are fictional characters, formed and loosely based on talking about and to people about motorhome security since 1988 when I was 28 years old.

At 28 Lyn and I had bought a brand new, shiny Autohomes "Highwayman" and everyone used to ask me to go and ask my Father, when they wanted to know anything about it

Eddie

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[Tootles]

Does anyone have any idea of what sort of 'gas' is in a pale green cylinder about 9cms. x 70cms., possibly supplied (nicked) in Spain?

A colleague and I had 'experience' of this on the coast road from Barcelona to the border one night in 2001.

The cops retrieved it from under mate's truck-cab...... AND caught the perpetrator before he left the layby :thumb::thumb:

Nitrous Oxide comes in a pale green cylinder for motor racing use, I am told???????

 

[Fireman Sam]

Green cyl’s are usually indicative of inert gasses, or suchlike e.g. argon.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Nitrous oxide has a blue shoulder.



So does the cylinder........ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottled_gas

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[norfolkenchants]

Not funny

"Woke up with thumping headaches" Strangely enough red wine has the same effect on me .

You wouldn't think it was so funny if it had happened to you. French police told us clearly that gassing does go on on a regular basis and it tends to be the same feral gangs that do it. Neither of us, both light sleepers, could understand why we did not wake while the little sods ransacked the bedroom.T
he patient French Police explained that the gas knocks you out for several hours.

 

[jhorsf]

Anyone remember this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2377563.stm

yes it is possible to use knockout gas if you dont mind killing people
At least 119 civilians died in the storming of the theatre, where about 50 armed Chechens were holding almost 800 people hostage.
Of those rescued, 245 are still in hospital, eight in a serious condition.

 

[Minxy]

You wouldn't think it was so funny if it had happened to you. French police told us clearly that gassing does go on on a regular basis and it tends to be the same feral gangs that do it. Neither of us, both light sleepers, could understand why we did not wake while the little sods ransacked the bedroom.T
he patient French Police explained that the gas knocks you out for several hours.

I'm not belittling that you were robbed, we've been burgled twice in houses, so I know it is a horrible thing, but I'm afraid that the 'reason' you were give is just something, IMV, that the French police tell tourists as that is what they 'expect' to be told. No one wants to admit that they were robbed and didn't wake up, purely because they didn't take precautions to prevent it happening. I am not saying that you deserved it, not for one minute, but do question whether you would you really have left your balcony windows open like that in the UK? When on holiday we relax, let our guard down and tend to sleep more heavily than we would at home. If I want to go to the loo in the night when away in our camper, I can get out of bed, scramble over hubby, do the necessary, then get back in without him, or our 3 dogs, stirring at all! If I can do it then you can bet your bottom dollar that 'professional' burglars can. As for having a headache ... if I wake up and have to do something in a hurry, such as start to rush around (as I would if I found I'd been burgled and then frantically tried to discover what I'd lost) you can bet I'd have a headache too from suddenly having to react in this way.

I'm afraid, despite what you were told by the Gendarmes, I cannot believe that you were really gassed, but if you want to then that, obviously, is your prerogative.

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[Gizmouk]

[HI]Nitrous Oxide[/HI] comes in a pale green cylinder [HI]for motor racing use[/HI], I am told???????

We had someone who filled their fire extinguisher with NO. Daft twonk got caught as he suddenly started doing some "slightly" improved lap times. Got pulled into post race scrutineering, who found the modified extinguisher pipework, and removed his licence. I heard the MSA gave him a 5 year ban

 

[Snowbird]

You wouldn't think it was so funny if it had happened to you. French police told us clearly that gassing does go on on a regular basis and it tends to be the same feral gangs that do it. Neither of us, both light sleepers, could understand why we did not wake while the little sods ransacked the bedroom.T
he patient French Police explained that the gas knocks you out for several hours.

Errr.....Where did I say being burgled was funny ?.

 

[sdc77]

I'm in the 'no gas' camp.
Firstly I'm inclined to believe the scientists who point out is almost impossible...
Secondly for any credible police force to make a statement that someone had been gassed would require forensic evidence to support it... In the UK we have an offence of administering a noxious substance and im sure there's similar laws abroad.... No one that I have seen has mentioned any such investigation.
Heavy sleeping and poor security seem to be the more obvious reasons.
I'm not making light of someone being a victim here.. Its awful.. I'm just trying to be a little logical.
It's quite clear that gassing the occs of a motorhome is extremely difficult and unlikely.. And if it happened then there would probably be evidence.... And if it was really easy then it would be happening regularly...
Most stories are heresay.. And those that are first hand lack any evidence... Both of the attack or of the gas used or of any police investigation.

Gas detectors..... What gas do they detect? This will be a great answer I'm sure

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[ericonabike]

Always a good read, these. Just out of interest I searched the excellent http://www.snopes.com/ for any refecence to this happening in the USA there - using 'RV' as a search term turned up some amusing tales, but none involving robbers and anaesthesia. So, such a seemingly foolproof modus operandi hasn't crossed the pond then.

As far as I know, no-one has ever claimed to have been/known the victim of such an attack in the UK. All accounts come from...abroad. I find this bizarre. The more so as the perpetrators are invariably described as East European/Roma, either by the police or their victims. Yet as members of the EU these gas-wielding villains could ply their trade anywhere. And if you believe the Daily Wail, these shores are already over-run with thieving gangs of Roma/Romanians anyway. It doesn't make sense from any perspective; medical, practical or feasible.

File under internet myth, alongside 'Robbers in shopping mall parking lots are using ether-filled perfume bottles to render their victims unconscious'.
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/perfume.asp#KOmdVHWTU1kGBXt9.99

 

[scotjimland]

I've been reading and contributing to motorhome forums for the past ten years..

There has been literally hundreds of threads with thousands of posts on gas attacks, but I have yet to read a post where someone had proof positive proof that a gassing attack had taken place..

I have scoured French crime reports, searched for news reports, in fact, anything that had evidence to prove they happen.. and found nothing. Many people , including the French Police 'say' they happen.. but none have ever provided evidence.

It's impossible to prove a negative.. ie , they don't happen.. , so until the day when there is proof , not just hearsay, then they don't happen..

For Example..

If someone told you our Moon had a satellite made of cheese you would ask for proof.. it would be down to them to prove it.. not you to disprove it.. so to with gas attacks.

 

[durhamahoy]

Hi
Re Gas attacks, it is for real. I know someone who talked to somebody who definitely knew someone who had it on good authority that there best mates mate was gassed whilst stopping somewhere near Spain.
It must be true because someone is not inclined to make this type of serious story up.

I am not going anywhere near France or Spain, today anyway.

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[johnp10]

For Example..

If someone told you our Moon had a satellite made of cheese you would ask for proof.. it would be down to them to prove it.. not you to disprove it.. so to with gas attacks.

Statement:
Our moon DOES have a satellite made of cheese.
Proof:
My Granddad told me so when I was a kid.

What more is needed?
Granddads know these things.
(My younger grandkids think so, anyway).:thumb:

 

[petrol tin glyn]

seems to me after being gassed theres alot of expensive items being stolen is this an insurance scam?? i was on a site in spain last year when somebody parked by the the boundry fence was robbed , it turned out all their computers iphones were stolen and the robbers scaled a 25 foot fence in broad day light to get in without the aid of a ladder and its our insurance that goes UP rant over:thumb:

 

[Minxy]

Statement:
Our moon DOES have a satellite made of cheese.
Proof:
My Granddad told me so when I was a kid.

What more is needed?
Granddads know these things.
(My younger grandkids think so, anyway).:thumb:

Nah ... you're telling porkies ... Wallace and Gromit ate it!

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[busby]

Robin Hood is still at large and attacking campers in Sherwood Forest, a friend of mines mothers sister was held up at bow and arrow point...BUSBY

 

[Roryboys Dad]

busby - Robin Hood is still at large and attacking campers in Sherwood Forest.

Picture evidence to back up this alleged problem .........

 

[norfolkenchants]

I'm not belittling that you were robbed, we've been burgled twice in houses, so I know it is a horrible thing, but I'm afraid that the 'reason' you were give is just something, IMV, that the French police tell tourists as that is what they 'expect' to be told. No one wants to admit that they were robbed and didn't wake up, purely because they didn't take precautions to prevent it happening. I am not saying that you deserved it, not for one minute, but do question whether you would you really have left your balcony windows open like that in the UK? When on holiday we relax, let our guard down and tend to sleep more heavily than we would at home. If I want to go to the loo in the night when away in our camper, I can get out of bed, scramble over hubby, do the necessary, then get back in without him, or our 3 dogs, stirring at all! If I can do it then you can bet your bottom dollar that 'professional' burglars can. As for having a headache ... if I wake up and have to do something in a hurry, such as start to rush around (as I would if I found I'd been burgled and then frantically tried to discover what I'd lost) you can bet I'd have a headache too from suddenly having to react in this way.

I'm afraid, despite what you were told by the Gendarmes, I cannot believe that you were really gassed, but if you want to then that, obviously, is your prerogative.

It is really interesting how you seem to know so much more about what happened to us than we do. Your theories are fascinating although somewhat at variance with our personal experience, the evidence of a business colleague sharing the apartment with us who found us in a drugged state in the morning and the French Police who for some reason you think made it all up. Most interesting.

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[eddie]

It is really interesting how you seem to know so much more about what happened to us than we do. Your theories are fascinating although somewhat at variance with our personal experience, the evidence of a business colleague sharing the apartment with us who found us in a drugged state in the morning and the French Police who for some reason you think made it all up. Most interesting.

I think that the problem for most of us is that The Royal College of Anaesthetists, do know more than most of us.

It is them stating that gas would not have been the cause for your malaise.

There is no gas known to them, that could produce the effects described.

As for the French police? The same as ours, normal people who have been on a training course for a few weeks. So to be fair not qualified to make a medical diagnosis, so their opinion on a medical matters is null and void However:-

Were you hospitalised? I would imagine if the Police thought that you had been poisoned and robbed they would have requested an ambulance, you would have been hospitalised and toxicology reports ordered. and, as with a general aesthetic you have been medically observed for a period of time before you would be released.

Logically can you imagine the consequences of a local Policeman, thinking that you had been gassed, rendered unconscious and robbed, doing nothing and perhaps allowing someone's death due to the their inaction?

The other strange phenomenon, is the location of alleged attacks! Northern Spain and France and it is always British people and Germans. Why don't such attacks take place in the USA? for example?

Russians tried it in Chechenya of course, in the Dubrovka Theater. Circa 850 hostages, in one building. 40 terrorists died and 130 hostages died along with them: Gassed! That's 20% and the rest hospitalised!

[FONT=&quot]
So, until the Royal College of Anaesthetists publish a paper to explain that such gasses do exist, and randomly squirting, any quantity, of "Gas A" into a well ventilated, motorhome, caravan or apartment, of various volumes, will, render various occupants, of varying ages and body masses unconscious (but not the thieves[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]) for sufficient time for a theft to be committed, but, no one will be hurt or killed in the process I will continue to say the same thing to our customers

Gas attacks do not happen.

That is just my opinion, based on scientific evidence and deaths, but still an opinion, worth no more or less than yours based on your personal experiences and anecdotal evidence, opinions, we are all entitled to them

Eddie


[/FONT]

 

[iandsm]

About six years ago my wife and I were staying in an apartment in Cannes in the south of France. We were on the second floor and as it was a hot night the bedroom window was open into the balcony. We woke up the next morning with thumping headaches minus our wallet and handbag. The thieves had the agility of monkeys and had escaped over rooftops. French plod told us in a matter of fact way that we had been gassed by a gypsy gang (Roma) who were regulars.They told us they knew who did it but could never prove it as they only took cash. They also told us they operated on trains but no mention of motorhomes!

Trying to be open minded I read this thread again, although I should say straight away that I do not believe in gas attacks. It just seems to me, reading the original post that there are some questions that the OP might ask themselves. I am not saying that I don't believe that they "think" they were gassed.

Can the possibility be excluded that someone had access to a duplicate key to the apartment (Owner, cleaner, previous resident etc) and simply entered by the door.

Could and a few drinks after a day in hot weather explain heavy sleep with headaches.

How do thieves put enough gas in a room whist the window is open. Balcony widows are large and the room simply would not hold the gas.

How did the thieves bring the gas over roof tops and did they take the empties away with them whilst scaling rooftops like monkeys. The size of containers needed to hold enough gas to fill the room would appear to contradict this theory, unless they were herculean circus strongmen/performers.

If the police said they only took cash it seems the thieves made an exception in this case as they took a handbag and a wallet.

Was it the case that the police took an easy option of suggesting gassing by Roma having seen an open window rather than making proper enquiries re duplicate key etc,

Was the police story about regular Roma gangs gassing people, even on trains just BS to support the above "couldn't be arsed" attitude.

If the police really thought gas had been used why, as has been suggested by others, did they not arrange for blood/toxicology tests and even suggest a hospital visit to ensure the victims were unharmed.

Some years ago we were on holiday in Greece, we had a large meal and several drinks after a hard days sunbathing. We retired to bed leaving our balcony window slightly open (6 foot above ground level) In the morning I woke with a headache and my wallet had been taken from the bedside table.

The previous evening I had cashed a eurocheue at the bar of the small hotel where we were staying. which might explain why the owners son, who worked in the bar/restaurant, went into the nearby town the morning of the discovery of the theft to return with parts to repair his motorbike, and strangely enough wouldn't meet out eyes when we saw him for the rest of the holiday. We were not gassed.

 

[Mastercamper]

Robin Hood is still at large and attacking campers in Sherwood Forest, a friend of mines mothers sister was held up at bow and arrow point...BUSBY

And the Loch Ness Monster is still at large despite it`s last appearance being in 565 AD, when St Columba spoke to it, oh, and a couple who watched as it crossed the road alongside the Loch, on 22 July 1933. Never the less it definitely exists, ............doesn`t it?:Angry:

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[GJH]

Statement:
Our moon DOES have a satellite made of cheese.
Proof:
My Granddad told me so when I was a kid.

What more is needed?
[HI]Granddads know these things.
(My younger grandkids think so, anyway)[/HI].:thumb:

Oh 'eck. You haven't passed your Daft Gene onto them have you?

 

[norfolkenchants]

I think that the problem for most of us is that The Royal College of Anaesthetists, do know more than most of us.

It is them stating that gas would not have been the cause for your malaise.

There is no gas known to them, that could produce the effects described.

As for the French police? The same as ours, normal people who have been on a training course for a few weeks. So to be fair not qualified to make a medical diagnosis, so their opinion on a medical matters is null and void However:-

Were you hospitalised? I would imagine if the Police thought that you had been poisoned and robbed they would have requested an ambulance, you would have been hospitalised and toxicology reports ordered. and, as with a general aesthetic you have been medically observed for a period of time before you would be released.

Logically can you imagine the consequences of a local Policeman, thinking that you had been gassed, rendered unconscious and robbed, doing nothing and perhaps allowing someone's death due to the their inaction?

The other strange phenomenon, is the location of alleged attacks! Northern Spain and France and it is always British people and Germans. Why don't such attacks take place in the USA? for example?

Russians tried it in Chechenya of course, in the Dubrovka Theater. Circa 850 hostages, in one building. 40 terrorists died and 130 hostages died along with them: Gassed! That's 20% and the rest hospitalised!

[FONT=&quot]
So, until the Royal College of Anaesthetists publish a paper to explain that such gasses do exist, and randomly squirting, any quantity, of "Gas A" into a well ventilated, motorhome, caravan or apartment, of various volumes, will, render various occupants, of varying ages and body masses unconscious (but not the thieves[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]) for sufficient time for a theft to be committed, but, no one will be hurt or killed in the process I will continue to say the same thing to our customers

Gas attacks do not happen.

That is just my opinion, based on scientific evidence and deaths, but still an opinion, worth no more or less than yours based on your personal experiences and anecdotal evidence, opinions, we are all entitled to them

Eddie


[/FONT]

You are indeed entitled to your opinion. I on the other hand have first hand experience. It is extraordinary how dogmatic people can be about things they know nothing whatever about.

 

[Mastercamper]

You are indeed entitled to your opinion. I on the other hand have first hand experience. [HI]It is extraordinary how dogmatic people can be about things they know nothing whatever about[/HI].

How true. Does this not apply to all of us?

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