Johannesburg - The wife of South Africa's newly appointed
Intelligence Minister Siyabonga Cwele is being investigated for
international drug trafficking following the arrest of an alleged
South African drug mule in Brazil, a Johannesburg-based newspaper
reported Sunday.
The Sunday Times newspaper said Sheryl Cwele has been linked
directly to the unemployed 31-year-old mother who was arrested in Sao
Paulo in June 13, 2008 when a 9-kilo block of raw cocaine was found
in her suitcase while en route to Johannesburg.
She is being held in Brazil's Penitenciaria Feminina Da Capital
prison, awaiting charges.
The minister's wife was linked to the suspect through scores of e-
mails, mobile phone text messages and prison letters, some of which
were published by the newspaper on Sunday.
The suspect's family told the Sunday Times that Sheryl Cwele had
offered her a job overseas, while a friend claimed that Cwele had
merely been asked to 'make up' the text messages to deceive the
family.
Sheryl Cwele has denied knowledge of the alleged drug mule's
travel itinerary that included trips to Colombia and Peru or the man
she is alleged to have put her in touch with. But the newspaper,
quoted relatives as saying Sheryl Cwele had made the flight, visa and
collection arrangements for the woman and gave her a coat for good
luck.
The Sunday Times published an SMS reportedly sent by the suspect
to the minister's wife that read: 'Sheryl, what are you up to? I'm
sitting in Peru and really just want to go home! Have you spoken to
Frank?...'
The woman said she had been told that 'Frank' was the brother of
the minister's wife that she was supposed to meet, the report said.
In response, Sheryl Cwele reportedly wrote: 'Frank told me about
the delay which is for your own good really ... avoid people who may
end up asking a lot of questions ... hang in there.
'I'm innocent ... I wish I'd never helped her, but I trusted her
and I felt sorry for her,' Sheryl Cwele was quoted as saying in the
report.
Her husband, meanwhile, has said he knew the alleged drug mule
only as a former neighbour, according to the report. His spokeswoman
on Sunday said, 'He's basically said he's dealing with this as a
priority because of its impact on his work.'
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