The SA embassy in Bangkok has warned potential South African drug smugglers that it can do little to help them if they are caught – a statement that came as an alleged SA drug mule appeared in court in Thailand.
Nolubabalo Nobanda, arrested after cocaine was found hidden in her dreadlocks when she tried to enter Thailand in December, was remanded in custody on Monday until June 11 by a Bangkok court.
Thai custom officials said they found about 1.5kg of cocaine in her hair after she got off a Qatar Airways flights at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on December 13. They were alerted by white powder in her pair and found cocaine concealed in plastic wrapping in her dreadlocks.
Nobanda appeared in court for the first time on December 14 and she was remanded in custody till Monday.
Nelson Kgwete, spokesman for SA’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation, confirmed that Nobanda had been remanded again until June 11.
A fellow South African, Alexander “Shani” Krebs, is to be released on April 22, ending 18 years spent in jail for trying to smuggle heroin out of in Thailand. He was arrested on April 26, 1994 at an airport and on September 28 that year was sentenced to 100 years in prison. This was soon commuted to 40 years.
Although SA media have reported that Krebs has received a royal pardon, this is not technically correct, official sources have said. They say amnesties granted on the Thai king or queen’s birthdays have steadily reduced the time he must serve.
The SA embassy in Bangkok said in a statement yesterday that no South African had yet received a royal pardon.
It also said that in carrying out its duty to help South Africans arrested in Thailand, it had to be “mindful of international law principles and avoid interfering in the judicial processes of other countries”.
“The embassy therefore wishes to advise fellow South Africans to be law-abiding.
“The embassy’s scope of involvement in the cases of South Africans abroad is limited as it can neither provide legal advisers for them nor fund their legal requirements.”
The embassy said royal pardons were granted at the king’s discretion.
“There is no fixed time frame. Amnesty is granted generally on the king’s birthday or the queen’s birthday. This involves a reduction of sentence.”
Although South Africans had not been granted pardons, amnesties had reduced the terms of three of those serving sentences. The trio would be returning home this year. One of them is Krebs. It is not clear who the other two are. - Foreign Editor