Mumbai Terrorist Amped Up on Steroids, Amphetamines
Investigators say the drugs were used to enhance the attackers' performance.
December 5, 2008— -- The gunmen that led the three-day assault on Mumbai last week were pumped up with steroids and amphetamines, according to a NYPD investigator who is now on the ground in Mumbai. The substances, found following forensics tests, according to Capt. Brandon del Pozo of the NYPD Intelligence Division, were likely meant to enhance performance. They were not used to create out-of-control terrorists, analysts said.
Nine gunmen were killed in the three day shootout with Indian commandos and one survived. The lone surviving terrorist has told interrogators that as many as 14 other trained terrorists are still at-large in Pakistan.
Authorities have also learned that the terrorists used Google Earth to map their attack route, which included the Mumbai train station, two luxury hotels, and a Jewish community center. The terrorists then burned the information onto CDs.
An analysis of the shooting patterns inside the Mumbai train station reveals they were also well-trained in their use of assault rifles, which are difficult for even experienced shooters to control.
By the time the attackers got to the west wing of the train terminal, a rail employee had used a loudspeaker to warn commuters. The terminal was empty of civilians and the terrorists met members of a force of about 50 officers on duty that night at the terminal.
However, only half were armed and they were armed with simple rifles and some pistols. They could not "decisively engage," police who analyzed the situation said.
This same pattern was observed in their attack on the restaurant. Each attacker used one clip, dropped the empties, tossed a grenade, and moved on towards the Taj Hotel.
Along their attack routes the terror commandos dropped RDX bombs of about 10 pounds on extended timers. They were designed to hurt responders to the incident. But almost all were found and defused.