Brazilian Daniela Maris de Oliveira, 35, a victim of human trafficking, has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison for drug possession in Cambodia. Daniela’s family claims that the substances, which local authorities have not identified, were planted in the Brazilian’s luggage.
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She was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, with the possibility of appeal. The UFMG Legal Clinic, which supports and advises us, is aware of the case and will prepare everything necessary, because my sister is innocent and is being wronged there. We can never forget that she was the victim of a human trafficking scheme, says Lorena, Daniela’s sister, who claims to have asked Itamaraty for help in the case.
According to Lorena Oliveira, Daniela’s sister, the family was only informed that three capsules had been confiscated from the woman’s possession. She was detained in Banteay Meanchey District Prison for eight months.
The Brazilian informed her family at the beginning of the year that she had received a job offer to work as a telemarketer in Cambodia. The promised contract will be temporary, from six months to a year, and she intends to return to Brazil after that. Daniela left for Cambodia on January 30.
– When she arrived, she sent us the location. We started to find it very strange: it was a complex far from the capital, near the border with Thailand – says Lorena, Daniela’s sister – and as soon as she entered there, they took her passport. There was no way she could get out. It is a place without trade, without roads, without anything.
According to Lorena, throughout February, new victims of the scheme arrived at the complex. In March, training for the supposed job began, and Daniela de Oliveira realized she would have to commit online fraud. She refused to stay there and asked to leave, but was warned that she would have to pay a fine. Daniela’s family members claim that after this incident, drugs were planted in the Brazilian’s luggage.
Lorena recalls that in the two days following Daniela’s arrest, the family began to be blackmailed by criminals pretending to be her sister. About R$27,000 was passed to the criminals.
They took all her belongings, including her cell phone. With her, they started sending us messages, pretending to be her. They said there is a fine to pay. We realized it wasn’t her because of the spelling mistakes and also asked intimate questions – says Lorena.
The family was only able to speak to the architect on March 29. She informed Daniela of what had happened in the past few days and said she had requested a toxicity test, which was refused. In prison, she faces difficulties communicating because she does not speak the local language, but a local NGO has found a lawyer to defend her in the trial scheduled for next week.
Currently, the family is organizing a virtual fundraising campaign to help bring the Brazilian woman back to the country. The goal is to raise R$60,000 to pay for lawyers, travel costs and the purchase of basic materials.
When contacted, Itamaraty said she was aware of the case, which is being monitored by the Brazilian embassy in Bangkok.
“The embassy is making efforts with the Cambodian government and providing appropriate consular assistance to Brazilian citizens, in accordance with the standard operating protocol to assist Brazilian victims of international human trafficking,” the memo said.
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