Jailed South African drug mule Nolubabalo Nobanda would have been killed if she backed out of trafficking drugs to Thailand, it was reported on Friday (22/06/2012).
The Star Africa Edition reported that Nobanda, who was recently sentenced to 15 years by a Bangkok court, claimed she was not a drug trafficker but a victim of human-trafficking by foreigners in South Africa.
She claimed when she found out she was expected to traffic drugs, she tried to back out but was threatened.
"If the Nigerians got to know that I was not going to do the work, they could even kill me...” said Nobanda in a statement.
She said a close friend of hers, Sulezo Rwanqa, was given a job by the brother of a friend to sell hair products from Brazil in South Africa.
Arriving in Brazil, Nobanda and Rwanqa met with another South African woman who was apparently angry that the two were too young to execute the apparently dangerous job which was set for them.
Nobanda said what followed was the "training” for the trafficking which started with the swallowing of condoms filled with drugs but she could not keep the condoms down.
Then came the idea of putting the drugs in her hair.
When she landed in Thailand, it was as though the immigration officials were expecting her.
"They went straight for me and took me to a separate room.” Thai officials caught Nobanda with 1.4 kilograms of cocaine in her hair. - Sapa
