Gas Attacks on Motorhomes

The following MMM article is cautious about the prevalence of 'gas attacks' on sleeping motorhomers.

March 2008

GAS ATTACKS

Question from Reader: "With the increasing evidence of narcotic gas attacks in motorhomes, I am contemplating fitting an alarm. Please can you forward to me copies of reviews carried out by MMM, plus any other information you may have on gas monitoring devices?"

Reply from MMM's George Collings: "From time to time we receive letters like yours from readers anxious to protect themselves against thieves armed with narcotic gas.

Strangely, considering that MMM is both the UK'S oldest and largest-selling motorcaravanning magazine, up until a couple of years ago we had never received a single letter from a victim.

The proprietor of a company heavily involved with motorhome security told me he made enquiries with an anaesthetist, who commented that he wished he could reliably put the occupants of a vehicle to sleep and then guarantee that all of them would be alive to wake up again. Suspicious deaths anywhere in the EU attract intensive investigation and media coverage, but I cannot recall seeing any cases reported.

I took a couple of steps to establish the size of the problem. Enquiries with the Foreign Office drew a blank, with nothing reported from UK embassies in Europe.

I also published a letter in Interchange, where my comments were deliberately framed to cast doubt on the credibility of the stories in the hope of provoking a reply from anyone who had actually been a victim. Just one person replied and he happened to be a police officer The incident had actually occurred two years earlier in northern Italy and the local police had 'sniffer' type equipment to check for traces of the agent used, indicating they had a problem in that area. It was thought that a gang of illegal immigrants from eastern Europe was involved.

We have had no further reports. I am not saying these attacks never happen, just that they are very rare. Companies marketing the alarms use phrases like 'gas attacks are on the increase'. But why do victims tell them and not MMM?

We have never reviewed, or tested, any gas alarms for the simple reason that before testing a product like an alarm one needs to identify the agent it is intended to detect, and we do not have reliable information to work on. I suspect that possession of some, if not all, of the substances believed to be involved is illegal here.

Please let me know if you can add anything fresh on the subject.