Businesses in Cox’s Bazar-Bangladesh’s most visited tourist destination-are on edge following a deeply troubling criminal incident that has exposed a new and highly dangerous method of fraud. Local traders and law enforcement officials report that two Pakistani nationals allegedly used a potent chemical sedative, widely known as “Devil’s Breath,” to incapacitate a shopkeeper on Link Road before looting the establishment. The episode has triggered significant alarm within the business community and raised pressing concerns about the growing sophistication of foreign-linked criminal operations in the region.

The incident unfolded when the two foreign nationals entered a shop in the bustling Link Road commercial zone. According to eyewitnesses and the victim, the men spoke in Urdu, behaved with noticeable confidence, and appeared to be Pakistani citizens based on their speech patterns and mannerisms. What initially seemed like a routine interaction with international customers quickly spiraled into one of the most disturbing criminal events the city has seen in recent years.

Posing as customers interested in purchasing goods or exchanging currency, the men engaged the shopkeeper in casual conversation. During this seemingly normal exchange, they discreetly applied a chemical substance to a banknote or a handkerchief they carried. That substance-later identified as scopolamine, commonly referred to as “Devil’s Breath”-is notorious for its ability to render victims disoriented, compliant, and unable to resist commands.

Witness accounts indicate that one of the suspects held the contaminated item close to the shopkeeper’s face, while the other encouraged him to handle it. Within minutes, the shopkeeper began to lose control of his senses. Observers said he appeared dazed, confused, and unusually submissive-textbook symptoms of scopolamine exposure. Seizing the moment, the suspects swiftly emptied the cash drawer and quietly........

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