I’m Walter Casas* from Argentina, and I’m detained at Lai Chi Kok (Hong Kong) for drug trafficking.
The job market in my country is very difficult and after I looked and looked for a job I could not find any. I couldn’t afford to pay for my studies in Psychology, I needed money.
After my failure to find a job, I met Nestor Fabian Toledo through personal contacts. In the eyes of everyone, he’s a taxi driver in Buenos Aires. After telling him of my present situation he offered me to come to Hong Kong to bring a suitcase with drugs, I did not know the amount, he only told me: “Relax, it’s not much.”
I accepted and from Buenos Aires I travelled to Sao Paulo and from there to Manaus (Brazil) where a woman who was coming from elsewhere would give me the suitcase. She told me that her name was ‘Wendy’, I don’t know her country of origin but I suspect she was from Peru.
I was afraid of what Fabian would do if I denounced him, so I lied and said that I found the suitcase in the trash in Brazil.
I arrived Manaus and I stayed at the Hotel Towers Amazonas where the woman and Fabián would also stay. When he arrived, he gave me his room number and a password so he could identify me.
“El viejo 18” (The old 18) opens the door, I come inside and he gave me the suitcase. That same night I would be flying to Dubai where I made a four-hour stop, and then on to Hong Kong.
When I arrived Hong Kong after going through immigration, I got a message from Fabián telling me that he was waiting for me outside the airport. I took the suitcase and as I was leaving, a few customs officers called me and asked to check my bag. They took all my personal belongings, and put the suitcase through X-ray where they saw the concealed package. They took the suitcase apart, took the package and asked me ‘What is this?’ I answered with the truth, I really didn’t know. They told me that I was arrested and then interrogated me. I was afraid of what Fabian would do if I denounced him, so I lied and said that I found the suitcase in the trash in Brazil.
After pondering for some time, I decided to write to the court in Hong Kong asking if I could submit a revised statement. I wanted to tell the truth and give information about the owner of the suitcase so that I would not be tried as the owner of the drugs. A court representative told me it would not be possible to do it at this time. On November 6th, 2018 I will have my court hearing and I will find out how many kilos of drugs I was carrying. I pray to God that everything goes well and that I only serve the minimum time possible.
Note: This letter has been translated from its original language in Spanish. You can read the source in this post.
*Walter agreed to disclose his name for the campaign. His story was also published in the Argentine website clarin.com on 07.07.2018