SA minister's wife gets 12-year jail term

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May 06, 2011 at 6:32am

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Sheryl Cwele, the wife of South Africa's intelligence minister, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for drug trafficking.

Cwele, married to Siyabonga Cwele, was convicted of recruiting women to smuggle drugs into the country.

Her accomplice, Nigerian national Frank Nabolis, received the same sentence.

Allegations of drug trafficking surfaced in 2009 after the arrest of a South African woman caught in Brazil with cocaine worth $300,000 (£200,000).

Tessa Beetge is currently serving an eight-year jail sentence in Sao Paulo.

She was found with 10kg (22lb) of cocaine in her luggage.

There was a solemn atmosphere at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday when the pair arrived for sentencing, South Africa's Times newspaper reports.

Delivering the sentence, Judge Piet Koen described their offences as serious.

"Many families are affected by drugs which are brought here illegally. They suffer as a result of dealers who often initiate addiction by constant supply and thrive on that addiction," he said.

The pair, who had pleaded not guilty, say they will appeal against their drug-trafficking conviction.

They could have received up to 15 years in prison.

The opposition has called for Mr Cwele to step down, arguing that if he is not aware of his wife's illegal activities, he should no longer be in charge of the country's intelligence-gathering.

BBC NEWS

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