Venezuelan woman arrested after 'drugging two Brazilian tourists visiting Colombia' amid country's rampant crime wave involving sedatives

A Venezuelan woman was arrested at a hotel in Colombia after she allegedly drugged two Brazilian men and robbed them of their personal belongings.

Surveillance video footage showed security helping one of the victims, who was drunk, on to a wheelchair and the victim’s friend pushing him to the elevator as the woman followed them to the elevator during the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The woman, whose name was withheld by the police, reportedly drugged the tourists and later headed back to the lobby, where a security stopped her after noticing her suspicious behavior, hotel director Oscar Restrepo told Noticias Caracol.

A Venezuelan woman was arrested at a hotel in Colombia after she allegedly drugged two Brazilian men and robbed them of their personal belongings

Surveillance video footage showed security helping one of the victims, who was drunk, on to a wheelchair and the victim’s friend pushing him to the elevator as the woman followed them to the elevator during the early hours of Tuesday morning

The security staff did a wellness check and called the Brazilian men’s room, but after they saw that they were not answering the phone, they decided to call the police.

The men, whose names were not released by the police, were found in an incoherent state.

'We were able to enter one of the rooms, we identified two citizens of Brazilian nationality who were in a state of defenselessness, apparently due to the ingestion of a toxic substance,' Bogotá Metropolitan Police commander, Colonel Óscar Landazábal, told the outlet.

Cops questioned the woman in the lobby and confiscated a white powdery substance that she would have used to drug the men, and were able to recover the two luxury watches and two cell phones she had stolen.

The security staff did a wellness check and called the Brazilian men’s room, but after they saw that they were not answering the phone, they decided to call the police

The Venezuelan woman's arrest comes a week after Colombian national Paola Parra, who was wanted for drugging and robbing a Brazilian man in Rio de Janeiro, was nabbed at José María Córdoba International Airport in Medellín moments before she could board a flight to the Dominican Republic.

Parra, Colombian authorities said, had in the past used the dating app Bumble to meet men and then rob them.

An Interpol Red Notice was issued for her arrest after Brazilian cops said she drugged a man to steal more than $23,000 in crypto, $650 in cash, as well as bank cards and other valuables.

Paola Parra was arrested at José María Córdoba International Airport in Medellín on March 5. The 25-year-old Colombian is accused by authorities of stealing $23,000 in cryptocurrency from a man in Brazil after meeting him through Bumble

Paola Parra was arrested at an airport in Medellín, Colombia on March 5 after authorities in Brazil sought help from Interpol, which issued a Red Notice for her capture. Parra, a native of Colombia, allegedly used a banned substance to make a Brazilian man fall unconscious before stealing $23,000 in crypto currency and 3,244 Brazilian reals, about $656

In January, the United States Embassy in Colombia warned travelers about the use of dating apps following the deaths of eight Americans in Medellín between November 1 and December 31, 2023.

The embassy indicated that several of the deaths pointed to 'possible drugging, robbery, and overdose and several involve the use of online dating applications.'

The embassy advised also American visitors that they should 'strongly consider meeting only in public places and avoiding isolated locations, such as residences or hotel rooms, where crimes are most likely to occur.'

'It is also recommended that if Americans decide to invite a person they met to a home or hotel, they speak to the 'attendant/concierge beforehand and establish a policy as to what information your new visitor should provide before being authorized entry (photo of identification, etc.) and what process should be followed when your visitor departs,' the mission said.