Jacob Irwin-Cline, a 30-year-old former software developer and crypto investor from Portland, Oregon, says he was drugged and robbed by a man posing as an Uber driver on the early hours of May 9 in London.
How the Story Unfolded?
Irwin-Cline was in the city on a brief layover to visit his parents in Spain when he left a nightclub in Soho. A man claiming to be his Uber driver offered him a ride in a dark sedan.
In the back of the car, Irwin-Cline says he was given a spiked cigarette, lost consciousness, and woke up injured on the roadside. His phone, holding access to his cryptocurrency wallets, was gone, along with $123,000 in Bitcoin and XRP.
Night Out in Soho
Irwin-Cline had spent the evening at The Roxy, a basement cocktail bar on Rathbone Place. He remembers having about three whiskey sours before deciding to head back to his hostel around 1:30 am.
He used his Uber app to request a ride and said goodbye to friends. He did not notice it at the time, but CCTV footage later showed that he had entered a dark sedan instead of the Toyota Prius displayed on his phone.
Getting into the Wrong Car
Outside the bar, a private hire driver flagged Irwin-Cline down by calling out the name saved in his app. Irwin-Cline later told reporters that the man called himself Mohammed and looked like the photo on the Uber screen.
In his rush to leave, Irwin-Cline did not check the license plate or car model. The driver invited him to sit in the front passenger seat. Irwin-Cline recalls thinking the man seemed friendly and relaxed, so he climbed into the sedan without question.
Drugged in the Car
Shortly into the ride, the driver offered Irwin-Cline a cigarette. Though he had quit smoking, Irwin-Cline agreed to be polite. He now believes that the cigarette was laced with a rare drug, sometimes called “devil’s breath,” that has roots in parts of South America.
After smoking, Irwin-Cline said he felt dizzy and began drifting in and out of consciousness. He recalls vaguely handing his phone and its passcode to the driver when asked.
“There was some sort of drug in the cigarette,” he told MyLondon. He estimates he was unconscious for twenty to thirty minutes.
Waking Up and the Hit-and-Run
When Irwin-Cline regained consciousness, the car had stopped in a quiet, neighbourhood-like area of London. He saw his phone screen lit up with map screens, but no active navigation.
As soon as he blinked awake, the driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the car from about 35 mph to a sudden halt. The man ordered Irwin-Cline to get out of the car and open the trunk.
Under the drug’s influence, Irwin-Cline did not question the command. As he stepped out, the driver sped off without warning, striking Irwin-Cline and scraping his leg. The former software developer lay on the road, confused and in pain, while the driver disappeared into the night.
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Physical Harm and Injury
Irwin-Cline had undergone a labral repair on his right hip just six months earlier. After being hit by the fleeing driver, he says he was left “crippled” and unable to walk for days.
He found help when a stranger called a taxi to take him back to his hostel in Bayswater. Once safely inside, Irwin-Cline discovered his phone had been “bricked,” meaning it was remotely wiped. He called a friend in America to help him regain access to his accounts through an old Android device.
Crypto Losses and Aftermath
By the next day, Irwin-Cline learned that his cryptocurrency wallets were empty. He estimates losing a total of $123,000, including roughly $72,000 in XRP tokens, about $50,000 in Bitcoin, and smaller amounts in other coins.
Sleep eluded him for three nights as he realised the full extent of his losses. Despite visiting a hospital and alerting the police, no toxicology tests were performed.
Irwin-Cline believes the driver used scopolamine to incapacitate him. This sedative is known for causing amnesia and extreme compliance in victims.
Irwin-Cline does not think he was specifically targeted. He suspects the attacker simply took advantage of a wealthy tourist at the wrong time. He now warns others to be vigilant when hailing rides in unfamiliar cities.
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