Brit tourist 'victims of Rio women's drink spiking robbery' pictured
A British tourist filmed collapsing unconscious on a Brazilian beach after reportedly being drugged and robbed by three women has said he had a few sips of a cocktail "then nothing".
The first-time visitor to Brazil, a 21-year-old engineering student, who was seen in a video clip staggering towards Rio de Janeiro's popular Ipanema beach before collapsing. He had been offered a cocktail and said: 'I took one, two sips and then nothing.'
Footage of the young man collapsing on the sand after his drink was spiked went viral yesterday. Reliving the nightmare, he added: 'Maybe I'll come back one day but for now I think it's enough of this country."
It comes after boy, 5, is murdered by kidnappers because his mum couldn't pay £39 ransom.
Overnight the victim, who agreed to a filmed interview with a Brazilian media outlet outside his holiday accommodation with a second British student who was also targeted, spoke for the first time about their ordeal.
The other Brit, a fellow engineering student who like his pal was not named, revealed that before losing consciousness he threw his mobile phone into the sand when he sussed something was wrong, in a bid to avoid the trio getting into his banking apps.
He told Brazilian media outlet G1 gesticulating with his hands as he revealed he had been unable to recover the mobile: 'I must have realised what was going on and threw my phone.'
The sickening crime occurred during the British pair's midweek night out last week when they were approached by the female thieves at a bar in the Rio neighbourhood of Lapa.
They had been in Brazil for 10 days when they were targeted and had reportedly travelled to the South American country to celebrate the graduation of one of the university students.
They agreed to get into a taxi with the women who offered them Caipirinhas, which they had no idea had apparently been laced with sedatives at a beach bar .
The women were filmed fleeing in another taxi with the mobile phone of the student filmed falling KO on the sand which they reportedly used to steal an estimated £2,000 the victim's bank is now expected to reimburse.
The suspects have been arrested and named as Amanda Couto Deloca, 23; Mayara Katelyn Americo da Silva, 26; and Raiane Campos de Oliveira, 27.
According to local reports Campos de Oliveira has been arrested 20 times in the past for a string of similar offences and served six months of a six-year prison sentence for doping and robbing another British tourist in 2023 before having her conviction overturned last month by appeal court judges and freed from jail.
The taxi driver who took the women and two British tourists to Ipanema has been quizzed by police but ruled out as a suspect, although cops said overnight they believed the female trio had help and were hopeful of making more arrests.
A teenage delivery man has been credited with aiding the holidaymakers, calling an ambulance and helping police catch the alleged culprits. The British pair thanked him in their video interview overnight.
The mystery Good Samaritan who also filmed the shock images of the 21-year-old Brit collapsing unconscious on the sand when he realised something was amiss, told Brazilian media: 'He was unresponsive. He was drooling.
'His eye was open. His face was in the sand. I called the emergency services and they confirmed police and an ambulance were on their way.' The video he filmed also showed the three suspects who were later arrested fleeing the scene.
Police chief Patricia Alemany said investigators were still awaiting the results of toxicology tests to find out exactly what drug had been used to spike the British men's drinks and had also requested CCTV images from the area to try to identify possible accomplices.
She added of the suspect identified as Raiane Campos de Oliveira: 'She had just left prison and had been in jail twice before. She has been arrested in the past for similar crimes to the one she is now accused of, as well as threats and participating in a criminal organisation.
'This type of robbery is a very serious crime and I'd like to see the laws changed so these types of criminals spend more time behind bars.'
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Economist
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