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REPORTS that 200 Zimbabweans, mostly women, are on death row in China after they were arrested for drug trafficking are shocking and should deter like-minded people from embarking on dangerous missions for crooked syndicates.

The revelation comes hot on the heels of the trafficking of hundreds of women to Kuwait where they were promised jobs but were later turned into sex slaves, maids and other demeaning menial tasks where they often worked long hours without pay.

Once something sounds too good to be true, it often is and Zimbabweans should learn from the unfortunate scenarios facing some of their countrymen and women that there is no shortcut to success but the virtues of hard work and honesty are sacrosanct in life. Parliament heard on Tuesday how most of the women on death row in China were duped by their Nigerian boyfriends that they were going shopping in preparation for weddings and drugs would be placed in their luggage without their knowledge.

Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development parliamentary portfolio committee chairperson Cde Beatrice Nyamupinga moved a motion on human trafficking where she made the revelations. The Zanu-PF MP for Goromonzi said the Nigerians would have paid lobola for the women who the West Africans then use as drug mules. “We have about 200 Zimbabweans and the majority of the 200 are women, who are on  death row in China because they have been used by the so-called Nigerians, who are coming here, marrying them through an Act that we enacted in this House. They marry them and then ask them go to China to buy their wedding gowns,” said Cde Nyamupinga.

“As they go to China to buy their wedding gowns, they are given a bag, which is called a false bottom and in that false bottom, there are drugs packed in there.

They are told “when you get to China my friend is going to receive you and will show you the shops where you can buy your gown. She gets to China and the emigration and customs of China know that and these girls are captured and convicted.” Cde Nyamupinga also said thousands of other women are stranded in other countries after being promised lucrative jobs.

“It is with a heavy heart that I rise to move a motion on human trafficking following the repatriation of around 53 out of 1,000 women believed to have been trafficked to Kuwait. Not only Kuwait but to other countries like China, other Arab countries and including South Africa of all countries,” said Cde Nyamupinga.

“On this one, let me also add that these girls or the women who are being trafficked, we have almost 2,000 or over 1,000 that are roaming around in China as we speak right now. They were trafficked to China and some of them are now desperate and stranded in China.” We find these revelations quite revolting considering that the majority of these victims are young women, some with families, while others have their whole lives ahead of them.

We urge authorities to investigate these syndicates who often target poor, young, unemployed and vulnerable people for their sordid missions. The modus operandi for Nigerian drug traffickers is known throughout the underworld and the old trick of sneaking drugs into someone’s luggage is a common method that airport authorities around the world are aware of. Zimbabwe has become a hotbed for illicit schemes such as human and drug trafficking because of the country’s economic challenges which have exposed its citizens to all kinds of scams.

Convicted Singaporean match-fixer Raj Perumal once revealed how easy it was to corrupt our country’s football authorities and players due to their poverty and we note the same traits in the latest human and drug trafficking syndicates. It is unfortunate that 200 of our citizens will lose their lives in a foreign country because of their greed and voracious appetite for a quick buck while their handlers go on with their lives as if nothing has happened.

Asian nations such as China, Singapore, Indonesia and India have strict anti-drug laws hence the application of the death penalty on anyone violating them. Drug dealers are aware of this hence their reliance on mules to push their illicit contraband. We urge Zimbabweans to be wary of anyone promising them instant riches for seemingly easy assignments.

As for the women trapped in Kuwait, their plight has been helped immensely by the intervention of legislators who blew the whistle on their situation and mobilised funding for their repatriation. Granted, some of them are still holed up in near slavery conditions but we are hopeful that efforts to bring them home will come to fruition. In the meantime, we call on the government to crack down on these syndicates by identifying their local runners and bringing them to book.

The issue of human and drug trafficking has become a national security concern and authorities should be seized with ensuring that it does not become a bigger problem.