On September 15, a woman was apprehended at an airport in Mauritius.

She was reportedly found to have swallowed a stash of heroin which she was attempting to smuggle into the country.

She was taken to a hospital where the drugs were retrieved.

While this sounds like your average drug smuggling story, there’s one major difference. She took her four-year-old son along for the ride.

TimesLIVE reports that following his mother’s arrest, the child was placed in the care of the Child Development Unit.

A Facebook account, believed to be that of convicted drug mule Nolubabalo Nobanda, who recently returned to SA after eight years in jail in Thailand, was among those who expressed dismay at the child’s involvement in the case.

Nobanda stressed that these incidents had far-reaching consequences.

“These arrests are not just about the mule. What about the generation of children who are separated from their parents … and this madness… will stop only if we take an honest look at the problem and know that both officials and offenders must work together to find solutions,” Nobanda wrote.

That’s Nolubabalo Nobanda, who was caught trying to smuggle drugs into Bangkok in her dreadlocks.

The four-year-old boy has now returned to South Africa.

This is according to Patricia Gerber‚ who heads advocacy organisation Locked Up in a Foreign Country. She shared the news on the organisation’s Facebook page on Tuesday.

Gerber said the department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco), the department of social development and SAA had returned the child to SA.

There are no further updates on the child’s mother, but at least he’s safely home.

[source:timeslive]