Many people might not recognise the name Nolubabalo Nobanda but rather ‘the drug mule from South Africa who stuffed cocaine in her dreadlocks.’ Nobanda gained notoriety when, back in 2011, she was caught at a Bangkok airport trying to smuggle cocaine into Thailand.
Nobanda had been traveling from Brazil, on a Qatar airways flight, when she landed in Thailand and encountered an unfavorable fate. Officials at the airport noticed some white residue on her dreadlocks and inspected her upon their suspicions.
She was found in possession of 1.5Kg of cocaine and was sentenced to 15 years in jail for drug smuggling. Nobanda was released only after serving 7 years and returned to her native country where she was met by emotional family and friends at the OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday 19 September 2019.
The ex-convict was hounded by the media upon her arrival and expressed how grateful she was to be back on home soil as well as the support she had gotten over the years.
“It hasn’t been easy but my people have been behind me so I just want to thank my country for all their love, for all their support and for all their prayers. I’m back home and I’m back stronger,” she told journalists.
