LAST Thursday, the Australian County Court sentenced ex-Malindo air stewardess Zailee Zainal, 40, to nine years and six months in jail after the Border Force nabbed her with heroin hidden in her underwear.
She was paid a mere A$6,500 (RM19,359) to smuggle the drugs into Australia.
Between October 2018 and January 2019, Zailee made eight trips to Australia, smuggling in more than 4kg of heroin worth A$3 million. County court judge Michael Cahill showed Zailee mercy and offered some leniency as she was desperate for funds to pay off her daughter's mounting medical bills.
Zailee’s daughter, Mia, has grave congenital abnormalities and required repeat surgeries before she was 1 year old, with more surgeries to come on top of needing medication for her constant pain.
If she had been caught in Malaysia, Zailee would be facing the death sentence.
While we can understand the tragic motivation behind her smuggling activities, it does not absolve her of the crime. It also raises other very pertinent questions:
Zailee was recruited by a colleague who took advantage of her desperate need for funds and knew her vulnerability. This colleague is part of a drug-smuggling syndicate.
Zailee was merely a drug mule who got caught. What action has been taken to track down the colleague who recruited her and bring down the syndicate?
Who are the kingpins behind the syndicate, and what action has been taken against them?
The authorities may have been swift with dispensing justice to the little pawn in the game, but the hidden hands, the recruiters, enforcers and protectors, remain invisible to keep practising this evil business of drug smuggling and ruin even more lives.
There is a bigger picture behind Zailee’s case, and it involves the illicit manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs.
As with any illegal multibillion-dollar business, it also involves corruption, collusion and protection by enforcement personnel and powerful politicians.
We can only hope that the Malaysian government has the will and gumption to crack down on this soul-destroying business. – The Vibes, October 12, 2020
Dave Avran is founder of Malaysians Against Rape, Assault & Snatch Theft, Malaysia’s first crime-awareness cyber NGO
