"Cocaine was planted in her hand luggage by her Nigerian lover" - Russian woman facing death penalty in Vietnam for drug smuggling says

 

A 30-year-old Russian woman Maria Dapirka, accused of being a cocaine mule is facing the death penalty in Vietnam.

Dapirka was caught with two nylon bags packed with cocaine in her hand baggage, and more wedged inside a magazine, at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport in August 2014.

Dapirka, who has already written a 'farewell letter' to her mother, claims she was set up by her lover who posed as a top footballer.

Her lawyers have said she has accepted she may soon be executed, but still clings on to some hope she will be freed after three years in prison.

Dapirka, who lived in Thailand when she met her lover, known as Nick, was caught with almost 3kg of cocaine by Vietnamese customs on a flight from Singapore.

She said the cocaine was planted in her luggage by Nick - or 'Chib Eze' - who apparently has a penchant for seducing attractive young women before conning them into carrying drugs.

Dapirka's verdict and sentence was due to be handed down by a Vietnamese judge on Wednesday,  August 30th, in a Ho Chi Minh city court but the session was postponed 'for further investigation' for the fifth time.

In a letter to her mother Olga, a desperate Dapirka said she was ready for any decision by the court.
She wrote:

'Don't worry about me. I am fine. I am ready for any end. 'I hope you will manage to visit me. I've not seen you for four years. I miss you so much! Please take good care of your health.'

Her lawyer Sunkar Nurmagambetov said:

" We have received Maria's appeal. She addressed her family and said that she has not lost faith yet but realistically she understands there might be scenarios like a death sentence or life term.'

Before her arrest, she was a keen sportswoman who did not drink or smoke, he said.

"She has had to get used to the new conditions. She is trying to stay as optimistic as she can, but sometimes her mood can be quite low."

Pro-Kremlin news site Mash in Russia published a picture purporting to be 'Nick', the man she accuses of framing her after they met in Thailand.

A campaign organised by Maria Dapirka's friends calling for her release alleged that 'a whole criminal syndicate of Nigerian men work in Asia and all around the world, like Maria's so-called boyfriend.

"They make up all sort of stories, win trust, some even marry their potential future drug mules. Maria is not in this alone, there is plenty of girls like her who trust these men."

Olga, her mother, insisted her daughter was innocent.

"I hope Maria will be released because Vietnam has the death penalty for this crime. Maria would not carry cocaine, she has always lived a strictly healthy lifestyle,' said her brother Vadim. She does not eat meat, nor smoke, nor drink and has always said that she thinks all of those things are really disgusting."

Popular tourist destination Vietnam has some of the most severe penalties for drugs offences in the world.

People caught with even small quantities of hard drugs are liable to be executed. More than two dozen foreigners are currently facing the death penalty or life imprisonment for drug trafficking offences.

Source: DailyMail