A tangle of deception and seduction: how a crime ring targeted older men using sedatives and luxury status

All of them were high-net-worth individuals who showed up to dates convinced they would meet a young, attractive woman and perhaps share a sexual encounter. However, the twenty-something girl who had lured them with a fake profile on Tinder and Bumble was part of a criminal gang that specialized in deceiving, drugging, and robbing men using a method known as the dream kiss.

The detained woman built trust with the victim and coaxed him into revealing his occupation and sending photographs. If the images showed expensive clothing or a branded watch, the victim became a target for the gang.

The Madrid Police’s Group XIII of Robbery, part of the National Police Headquarters, has dismantled the group and arrested five members—two women and three men of Colombian nationality—who traveled to Spain as tourists and are believed to have attacked at least eight men (seven in Madrid and one in Barcelona). It is possible more victims will emerge as the gang operated across the country.

Victims Selected by Appearance and Value

The gang’s modus operandi not only insured the robbery but also put the victims at serious risk. One of the women posed as a matchmaker on dating apps, speaking to the men, building trust, and getting them to share what they did for a living and to send photos. The group looked for very specific indicators in those images: if the man wore expensive clothes or a branded watch, he became a prime target.

When one woman managed to trap a man, she met him in person, then drugged his drink with benzodiazepines to render him unconscious.

Hospitalized Victims

After the victims lost consciousness, the thieves ransacked the homes, taking everything: laptops, high-end watches, gold and silver jewelry, cash up to 75,000 euros, and even credit cards. Police found that the stolen cards were used to buy more iPhones, jewelry, clothing, and meals at restaurants with the help of male accomplices.

Men woke up hours later and realized they had been victims of a robbery committed under the influence of sedatives, leaving them entirely unable to communicate, without their phones, or their house keys. The victims required medical care and some were admitted to hospital due to the severe effects of the drugs they had been given.

Three Victims in Less Than 12 Hours

The operation codenamed Caliope began last May after multiple men reported similar incidents in Madrid. Investigations indicate at least eight robberies with violence, with more cases being explored across other parts of Spain. The pace was frenetic; three separate men were attacked in under twelve hours in Madrid alone.

Police learned that a new gang member would arrive at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. After landing, this woman was arrested, and officers found in her luggage a hidden container holding more than 600 pills with sedative effects.

Confused and Dazed

On June 23, two operations were set up, one in Madrid and another in Barcelona. In the Catalan capital, officers searched a suspect’s home and recovered 10,000 euros in cash and many stolen items.

Authorities also found a credit card in the possession of a man not accounted for among the victims. They suspected he could be the last victim of the violent group, so they hurried to locate him, convinced he was unconscious and in danger. They found him at home, still dazed after being drugged and robbed by one of the detainees.

The five suspects face charges for being part of a criminal organization, drug-related offenses, and eight counts of robbery with violence. Four of them are already in custody.