NPO helps smugglers in foreign jails return home

Baagi Ba SA has assisted 36 convicts in six years

Non-profit organisation (NPO) Baagi Ba SA has helped 36 drug mules convicted in foreign countries reunite with their families in the past six years.

Most of those they help are South African drug mules who have been released on parole but cannot immediately come back home due to finances coupled with shame. According to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, an estimated 680 South Africans had been locked up in foreign prisoners for drug-related crimes in 2023.  

She said SA is a key hub for drug-trafficking. "Our ports [of entry] are very easy to access. So, mules bring drugs from Brazil, where most drugs originate, and then use SA to distribute them to places like Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Hong Kong and other countries," she said. 

According to Nastasja Otrebski, a legal counsel from Otrebski Attorneys Inc, SA is prone to drug trafficking due to lack of training of the police to detect drugs, corruption at airports in particular in the cargo section, and high unemployment rate.

Matipile said decoys are always used by drug dealers and recruiters. 

"By the time a decoy lands at their destination, a picture of them had already been circulated throughout the airport. The police have their eyes on the decoy the moment the plane touches down. And when the decoy is stopped and searched, the real drug mule, who was on the same flight and probably standing right behind the decoy, passes through unnoticed," said Matipile.

The NPO  was founded in 2018,  and it advocates for policy and law changes in SA and aims to promote the International Transfer of Prisoners programme which allows individuals convicted and sentenced in one country to be transferred to their home country to serve the remainder of their sentence in familiar environment.

SA is prone to drug trafficking due to lack of
training of the police to detect drugs, corruption
at airports, and high unemployment rate.Nastasja Otrebski

"Most of our cases involve people released on parole after serving years in prison, especially in overcrowded jails like those in Brazil," she said. 

In 2020 alone, Baagi Ba SA helped bring back 15 women from Brazil. "We had to fight with the department of international relations and cooperation to bring them home because they were stranded in a foreign country, with no money and no one to help them. 

"People need to understand that South Africans don't require a visa to travel to Brazil, making the country an easy target. When these women are released from prison, they often find themselves lost, without money to return home. Many end up selling themselves to survive, which ultimately leads them back into the drug trade," Matipile added. 

While the organisation primarily deals with female victims, they have also encountered cases involving men, especially from Mauritius. 

"Recruiters are incredibly smart and patient. They take their time to get to know you and figure out how to manipulate you. They might stalk you beforehand, learn about your life, check your social media profiles and then start messaging you. Before you know it, after months of chatting, you've built trust with this person," she warned. 

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