South African intelligence minister's wife probed in drug mule case

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.'