nomasmulas, Author at No Más Mulas – No More Mules

False hope from a false friend

I am a 36-year-old woman from South Africa. I have a 13-year-old son and have been also caring for my grandmother and my late sister’s children. My sister passed away in April 2021, leaving behind a son and daughter who are 7 and 5.

I lost my job in 2020 and started a food business, but I lost that too due to the unrest in my city in 2022. I was living in an unhappy marriage with an abusive husband. It took me a long time to leave him because I was concerned about how I would support the children.

One day, I met a woman who said she knew me, though I didn’t remember her. She said she was sorry about the passing of my late sister and my failed food business. I was surprised to hear this so I asked how she knew all that. Turns out she used to be acquainted with my sister and had patronized my business once before. I cried. She was moved and asked me what I needed most. I told her I desperately needed to restart my business, as it was very difficult to find a job due to the unrest. She said she was going to Johannesburg and would return in two weeks to discuss how she could help me. She gave me her contact information and a food voucher before leaving. I was so happy about this encounter that I told my family all about it and the nice woman I had met.

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Pile of debt to pillar of strength

To start my story, I’ll share my family’s initial reaction upon learning I was in jail. I couldn’t face them, especially my wife and daughter. When my parents came to visit me, they burst into tears. Before this, I rarely kept in touch with them due to my gambling addiction. My debtors had harassed them multiple times, so I chose to stay away from them. Nevertheless, they spent three hours commuting every day just to visit me. Our relationship has become closer because of this experience.

Initially, my parents scolded me for committing such a crime. They did so because they love and care for me. During the first month of their visit, my mom cried every time. I regret making an unwise choice that hurt them.

My wife and daughter were devastated by the news of my imprisonment. At first, my wife refused to accept the fact and it took her a month before she visited me. Each time she came, she collapsed and cried at the sight of me.

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Radio silence

I’ve been in remand since March 28, 2022, nearly two years now. My case involves myself and another defendant, a high school classmate. We face four charges, including “trafficking in dangerous drugs,” with the case involving 1.5 kg of heroin.

I intend to plead guilty. Someone informed the police about the mastermind behind this case earlier. The police first approached me in mid-October, but they didn’t take a statement then. They asked me to provide substantial evidence and information to aid their investigation. I later sent a letter to the police on November 13 and another to the Department of Justice on November 16, requesting to give my statement. The police visited me and took my statement on November 23. They mentioned that my “boss” had implicated me. My boss was arrested in mid-October 2023 in connection with another drug trafficking case and is currently in detention. There were news reports concerning my case between March 22 and 27, 2022.

The incident occurred on March 22 to the 26 at a luxury hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East. On the same day, the police identified another male and female suspect. Out of fear that this man might harm my family, I told the police at the station he was my friend. On that day, this man hired a prominent lawyer to accompany me during my statement. My statement simply read, “I have nothing to say.”

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Packaged lies

I am a single mother of three. Before becoming a single parent, I was a homemaker, caring for my children. However, my husband had an affair and left us with no regard for our well-being. The emotional trauma and financial hardship at that time set me on this irreversible journey.

In a state of despair and helplessness, struggling to pay rent, electricity bills, and even afford meals for my children, a ‘friend’ I met on social media introduced me to a packaging job. This job, offering an attractive daily wage of HK$1,000 (~USD128), immediate cash payments, and no experience required, seemed promising. I reached out to the contact person for more information.

At that time, I was in desperate need of money, so it seemed like the perfect solution. Two days later, he brought $10,000 in cash to my home and discussed further details.

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Two passenger drug trafficking cases from Thailand at Hong Kong International Airport

April 16, 2024 — Hong Kong Customs yesterday detected two drug trafficking cases involving baggage concealment at Hong Kong International Airport and seized a total of about 17 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds with a total estimated market value of about $3.8 million. Two men were arrested.

Yesterday, Customs intercepted two male passengers aged 65 and 23, both arriving in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand, at the airport. During Customs clearance, about 8kg and 9kg of suspected cannabis buds were respectively found in each of their checked-in luggage. The duo were subsequently arrested.

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Into the deep pit

I am 32 years old. I was arrested for drug trafficking and I am currently on remand. I want to use this opportunity to share my story as a warning to young people about the dangers of drugs and the importance of cherishing their loved ones.

I used to be a construction worker, earning about HKD 20,000 per month. Both my parents suffer from health issues; my father is unemployed due to heart problems, and my mother is physically disabled and unable to work. Additionally, I used to care for my niece because my sister was constantly working. My sister works in sales. However, her monthly income is modest and she also has to finance her daughter’s education.

My romantic relationship also added to my financial burden. The physical strain of my job began to impact my health. I developed a protruding disc in my spine, which caused significant difficulties in my work.

Sleep eluded me. When I did manage to doze off, nightmares would jolt me awake. By the time I woke up, dawn had already broken. This pattern continues to this day.

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Ignorant, but not innocent

I am a 26-year-old half-Pakistani charged with trafficking, involving approximately 90 grams of cocaine found in my residence during a police raid on May 1, 2022.

I grew up in a broken family. My parents divorced when I was four years old, leaving me to grow up with my mother, a single parent. Later, my stepfather frequently subjected me to physical abuse. One time, my injuries were so severe that my school called an ambulance, which took me to the hospital. This incident alerted the authorities, and my stepfather was subsequently taken to court on charges of domestic violence.

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A life utterly destroyed by drugs

Hello everyone, I’m sharing my story to urge you and your loved ones to steer clear of drugs. I’ve been in prison for two years on charges of dangerous drugs trafficking, specifically over 800+ grams. The sentence for this charge ranges from 20 to 23 years. That’s what I’m facing.

I am a 45-year-old man with a 73-year-old mother who suffers from chronic illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes. I also have a 19-year-old son who is still in school. We lived together renting a place for HK$6,000 a month. I studied in Australia until the age of 13 but had to abandon my studies in year 11 due to my parents’ financial difficulties. I got married at 21, had my son at 26, and by 27, I was divorced and had custody of my son. It wasn’t easy being a single parent, but my mother was always there to help.

…But when she left me, taking most of my money, I was devastated. I turned to alcohol and eventually tried ICE, a drug a work friend suggested. This marked the downturn of my life. I treated my mother poorly, moved into an industrial building with my son, and squandered money on drugs.

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Woman from Brazil concealed 1.5kg of liquid cocaine inside body

March 24, 2024 — Hong Kong Customs detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case involving an incoming passenger at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 1.5 kilograms of suspected liquid cocaine with an estimated market value of about $1.5 million.

A female passenger, aged 52, arrived in Hong Kong from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers suspected that the passenger had dangerous drugs concealed inside her body cavity. She was then escorted to the hospital for examination.

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Will I ever see my girl again?

I resided with my father, stepmother, and stepbrother. Upon completing ninth grade, I immediately joined the workforce. In 2015, I got married and moved out, renting a place with my then-husband.

I became a full-time housewife after the birth of our daughter, and to supplement our income, I started an online shop selling cosmetics and baby products.

Sadly, my marriage was riddled with conflict, and in 2018 my husband took our daughter and severed all contact with me, my family, and my friends. He subsequently filed for divorce unilaterally and gained custody of our girl.

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When your life is past due

I am a 29 years old woman from South Africa. In 2022 I was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport for trafficking dangerous drug. I am a single mother of two boys, aged 11 and 9 years old.

Before my arrest, I had been struggling to support my sons financially. In 2020 I enrolled in a college for a 3-year course. Once admitted I was offered a bursary that only covered my fees, but in order to get it, I needed to achieve a certain percentage in my exams. Unfortunately I struggled to maintain the grades, and in 2022 my performance dropped. The bursary stopped paying for my fees, but I continued studying without paying and I managed to qualify to write my final-year exams.

Being arrested is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I am emotionally drained, I just live because there is nothing else to do.

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An experience that will never be forgotten

Let me first introduce myself. I am a Brazilian man, originally from the state of Belém do Pará. I am 36 years old, married, and have a son. To begin, I will talk a little about my life before everything that I am experiencing today – my life before was simple and lovely.

I have always worked honestly, I have always liked to work hard to achieve my goals. I am a personal trainer and have always worked in the bodybuilding area. I worked in various gyms in different states. I even got to train celebrities and became known in the social circle for the good work in my professional history. I have always been a dedicated person in everything I do. I am a humble person, I come from a humble family. I have a wonderful family. I am greatly thankful to my parents for the education they gave me throughout my life. I learned to respect others in the same way I wished to be respected.

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My life in numbers

Six

I grew up in foster care from a young age under the Social Welfare Department. I lived in a total of six foster homes from the age of 2 to 12. Let me start with the first one. I lived there for four years, from the age of 2 to 6. Because I was very young at the time, I considered them my family – my father, mother, and brother. I didn’t know my biological parents then and thought that this was my very own family. However, that was not the reality. When I entered first grade, someone came to my home and took me to court for a family progress hearing. It was the first time I saw a man claiming to be my biological father. However, I was too young to understand anything, so I didn’t say anything to him. After that court hearing, the person who asked me to go to court came again and took me to another home, where I met a new family. After that, I never saw my original father and mother again. I knew I wouldn’t see them anymore.

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Living in anguish far from home

I am now in detention and I want to share my story of how I got tricked into trafficking cocaine into Hong Kong on 25th October 2022. That was the day I got arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport upon arriving.I am a 29-year-old mother of two. In 2020, I got a call from my ex-husband because things could not work out between us. We had separated in 2016 when I had just gotten pregnant with our second child. I had to relocate to a different town because a lot had happened to me. I needed space. I had left home by then, my grandparents who raised me didn’t agree with me having a baby. They were scared that with the way I was maybe I would go dump the child in the street. So I left them and went to my childhood friend who was willing to take me in. We started living happily. We found work as sales agents at one of the most popular insurance companies in my country because before I could separate from my ex-husband I was already selling insurance.

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High risk, formidable danger

I was arrested in Sham Shui Po on December 13, 2022, for trafficking dangerous drugs. Before that, I worked as a truck driver, putting in long hours of 15 to 17 per day to earn a monthly income of around HK$30,000. I had financial responsibilities, including supporting my retired parents and covering various expenses. Life was challenging.

In April of that year, my father’s health took a sudden turn for the worse. He required frequent hospital visits. By June, he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and stage IV lung cancer. As someone with a background in insurance, I realized the significant expenses we would face.

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