I’m a woman, a Russian citizen. I want to share with you the tragic story of my life. I’m now in custody in Hong Kong, awaiting my sentence.
In or about autumn 2016, a good friend told me about her boyfriend who was at the time in Brazil working and would soon return to Russia. Not long later, after her boyfriend returned, I asked him for details of the job he was doing while in Brazil. He told me he did nothing serious, he had been sent to Brazil to pick up a suitcase and transport it to Asia. My friend then gave me the name of the guy who sent her boyfriend to Brazil. He is from Belarus.
I got in touch with that man and asked what kind of job would be available for me. He told me he had several types of jobs and I further asked him for more information, in particular about the jobs he was offering at that time. He told me it was necessary to fly to Brazil to pick up a suitcase and take it to Asia. I asked what sort of stuff would be in the suitcase, to which he replied that there would be some bodybuilding supplement called “Gipitron”. He also told me that transportation, accommodation, and meals would be covered, and I would be paid US$1,000 upon return to Russia. The job would take about two weeks.
While I was on board the plane to Addis Ababa, I received a text message warning me not to go to Hong Kong because it would be dangerous. It asked me to get back the suitcase and wait for further instructions.
About one month later I found myself in need of a job and therefore asked the man to give me a job. He asked me to get a bank card, which I got three days later so that he could deposit money for the job into my account.
I accepted the job offer because my friend’s boyfriend had returned from Brazil and he was fine.
At the beginning of November 2016, I received a text message informing me that I would be departing soon… I was sent an e-ticket. I packed and went to the airport, departing from St. Petersburg to Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Aboard the plane, I met a guy and later found out that he had also been hired by the same man.
Upon arrival in Sao Paulo, we found a place to stay. I got some money transferred to my account to cover our expenses. According to the schedule, we would stay there for about two weeks.
Throughout those two weeks, we changed hotels on several occasions. While waiting for further instructions we went to a place near the ocean and enjoyed a holiday there. We were later instructed to travel to another city called Campo Grande and went there by bus. Upon arrival, we found a place to stay and waited for further instructions once more. We were in contact with the Belarussian man on a daily basis. After two days, we were instructed to go to a motel room to meet some people who would give us the suitcases, one each. We took the suitcases and went back to the hostel where we were staying. The suitcase was unlocked, so I opened it and found it only contained some blankets yet no supplements. So I texted my contact to notify him of what I had found, to which he replied “everything is fine and that is the way it should be.”
There were no complications on the flight back to Sao Paulo, we had no issues with the luggage.
We had been in Brazil for about three weeks by now when my friend received his e-ticket to Hong Kong whereas I would have to take my flight on another day. Thus, I lost connection with him. Soon after, I received a text message informing me that I would depart for Hong Kong via Addis Ababa three days later, on 15 December 2016.
While I was on board the plane to Addis Ababa, I received a text message warning me not to go to Hong Kong because it would be dangerous. It asked me to get back the suitcase and wait for further instructions. Unfortunately, I failed to get back the suitcase since I only had two hours of layover. Given the suitcase was on the connecting flight to Hong Kong, I, therefore, had no choice but to take the connecting flight to Hong Kong as well in order to get back the suitcase. Upon arrival in Hong Kong, Customs officers found cocaine hidden in my suitcase, they found it after cutting it open. I was not aware that stuff was there. I was arrested and charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs.
The story I’ve told is truly what happened to me. I made a mistake but I don’t want anyone else to make the same mistake as me.
Note: This letter has been edited for grammatical errors and to aid readability. Names have been omitted.
