Namibian drug mule appears tomorrow
The 33-year-old Namibian woman who has been arrested for smuggling cocaine into South Africa will appear in court tomorrow to make a formal bail application.
Lena de Waal was arrested last week Sunday at the O.R. Tambo International Airport while travelling from Sao Palo in Brazil.
In her luggage, the South African Hawks discovered 5kg of cocaine with a value of N$2 million.
The cocaine was wrapped in foil.
In a media statement, the spokesperson of the Hawks, Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu, confirmed the arrest and said that the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Unit was following up on information regarding a suspected drug mule who was reported to have boarded a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil the previous night.
According to Mulamu, a routine check was conducted at the check-in points and authorities recovered the cocaine in the suspect's luggage.
Investigations into the case are ongoing to establish what De Waal was doing in Brazil.
De Waal made her first court appearance in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court last week Tuesday and was denied bail and remanded in custody. A few years ago, seven Namibian women were arrested after being found in possession of drugs in Brazil and were held in prisons in Sao Paolo. The women were between the ages of 20 and 40, and were arrested during 2011.
The women were allegedly trying to take the drugs out of that country for destinations in southern Africa.
At that time, the Namibian police said Namibian women were being used as drug couriers (mules) after they were recruited by foreign drug dealers operating in Namibia and neighbouring South Africa.
ELLANIE SMIT
Lena de Waal was arrested last week Sunday at the O.R. Tambo International Airport while travelling from Sao Palo in Brazil.
In her luggage, the South African Hawks discovered 5kg of cocaine with a value of N$2 million.
The cocaine was wrapped in foil.
In a media statement, the spokesperson of the Hawks, Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu, confirmed the arrest and said that the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Unit was following up on information regarding a suspected drug mule who was reported to have boarded a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil the previous night.
According to Mulamu, a routine check was conducted at the check-in points and authorities recovered the cocaine in the suspect's luggage.
Investigations into the case are ongoing to establish what De Waal was doing in Brazil.
De Waal made her first court appearance in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court last week Tuesday and was denied bail and remanded in custody. A few years ago, seven Namibian women were arrested after being found in possession of drugs in Brazil and were held in prisons in Sao Paolo. The women were between the ages of 20 and 40, and were arrested during 2011.
The women were allegedly trying to take the drugs out of that country for destinations in southern Africa.
At that time, the Namibian police said Namibian women were being used as drug couriers (mules) after they were recruited by foreign drug dealers operating in Namibia and neighbouring South Africa.
ELLANIE SMIT
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