DRUG TRAFFICKING IN SOUTH AFRICA
In a recent report by the United Nations office on drugs and crime it was reported that South Africa is the regional hub for drug trafficking, and the largest transit zone for illicit drugs in southern Africa. These hard facts cast a spot light the problem of drug trafficking and smuggling by South Africans to other countries or the problems of foreigners attempting to smuggle drugs in to the country.
In December 2011 South African born Nolubalalo Nobanda was convicted of drugs smuggling in Bangkok court. She has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for smuggling 600g of cocaine from Brazil to Thailand. Usually how women come on board is that they are promised with jobs overseas, but only to find themselves trapped in a spider web of drug traffickers in foreign countries.
When interviewed in Thailand’s prison Nobanda, a 23 year old from Gramhastown said in a statement “I am not a drug trafficker but a victim of the human trafficking business that is conducted in South Africa by foreigners who come to the country under the pretext that they are running from persecution in their countries,”
How she got involved in the business is that in November 2011, her trusted friend Sulezo Rwanqa told her that she had a friend in Port Elizabeth, Samuel Uchengu, whose brother, Tony Achengu, had a business in Brazil selling hair chemicals.
Achengu had given Rwanqa a job to sell some of the chemicals for him in SA, but Rwanqa did not want to go to Brazil alone to fetch the products.
Nobanda agreed to go with Rwanqa. Uchengu, who was paying for the trip, told Nobanda he had been unable to get her on the same flight as Rwanqa. On arriving in Brazil, Rwanqa and another man fetched her at the airport.
The next day, Nobanda was told she and Rwanqa had to meet a third woman, a South African named Hilda, at a bus stop.
At the meeting, Hilda told Rwanqa and Nobanda that she worked for Achengu and asked the two if they knew why they were in Brazil. Rwanqa replied she knew why they were there.
“Hilda said she was upset that she had not been told that we were very young people, because the work we were coming to do was very hard and dangerous.
“I asked Hilda what she meant by dangerous. She said it was about selling and delivering drugs for the Nigerians. I was very shocked and afraid for my life,” Nobanda said.
She tried to back out. “(Hilda) said it was too late for me to say that. If the Nigerians got to know that I was not going to do the work, they could even kill me or eliminate me… I took her advice to pretend I was willing to deliver the drugs.
“Hilda said some women had tried to escape but were found out by the Nigerians. Nobody knows what happened to those women.”
Nobanda and Rwanqa, who appeared to be in on the plan, were taken to a house where four people met them.
This was where the “training” started - they were forced to swallow condoms filled with drugs.
“I was vomiting, but I was forced to try… I was screaming very hard in the hope that the Nigerians would release me and let me go back home,” Nobanda said. It was then suggested the drugs be hidden in Nobanda’s hair.
Hours later Nobanda, dizzy and in pain from the weight on her head, was taken to the airport where she learnt she was being sent alone to Thailand where she would meet Rwanqa and another man. She would get R16 000 for the job.
On arrival in Thailand, Nobanda said, it appeared immigration officers were expecting her. “They went straight for me and took me to a separate room. There the television cameras had already been set up.” She tried to call Rwanqa, but Rwanqa’s cellphone had been switched off.
Thailand has some of the toughest anti-drugs laws on the planet, with judges permitted to impose the death penalty for traffickers.
While Nobanda may have been lucky to escape the death penalty but Janice Linden, 38, was not so lucky as he was killed by lethal injection after she was caught in November 2008 trying to smuggle 3kg of crystal meth into the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
Recently a South African Airways crew member was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport for allegedly trafficking drugs from Sao Paulo, Brazil into the country. its reported the 34 year old woman was found with nearly 2kg of cocaine, estimated to have a street value of R300 000.She had wrapped the drugs on the upper part of her body, under her clothes. She was apparently part of a drug syndicate trafficking between the two countries
While she is yet to spear in court when she does she would face charges of dealing in drugs.
In another case a South African woman was caught in India by custom officials at Mumbai airport carrying 26 kg of drugs. According to Indian media reports this was one of the biggest drug busts in recent times.
42 year old Sity Lentin was caught as she was preparing to board an Ethiopian airways plane to South Africa after officials received a tip off. In her bag drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine and ketamine were concealed
RELATED STORIES TO DRUGS
OTHER MULTI MEDIA
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| Nobanda Nolubabalo. |
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| Sheryl Cwele and co-accused in court. |
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| Statistics
AUDIO CLIPS
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Video Clips
Lives of drug mules in jail : http://youtu.be/QDHJvdxEtqs
Vanessa Goosen link: http://youtu.be/hOtgG1tKv7I
