Prisoner 14000: A cocaine smuggling grandmother’s fight for freedom

W5 from ctv started searching my bag and that's when everything went wrong. A cruel scam leaves an innocent woman facing difficult times. I didn't know she even had drugs on her. She is looking serious. I felt like they had taken my life as friends. and my family gathered to free her there was nothing I could do there are many clues I don't even have a name here I am a number here I am Avery welcome to a special edition of W5 from Hong Kong where we are hot on the trail of a Canadian

grandmother

from a small town imprisoned here for almost 9 months and facing decades behind bars Susanna was arrested at the airport accused of being a drug dealer.

She says that she is Vic's innocent victim of an elaborate and sophisticated romance scam. and now a twist that has surprised the legal experts here and that has altered the course of Susanna's life there are 16 of us in a cell I have a shiver that goes up my spine every time they close the cell door Susanna Feer has been languishing in a Hong Kong prison for almost 9 months I don't even have a name here I'm a number My number is yat Ling lingling, which means 1400. It's an unlikely place for this small-town Canadian

grandmother

who has never traveled and He has never broken the law before. my 8 year old granddaughter and my 5 year old grandson were the ones who stopped me from even contemplating suicide.

The crime the 65-year-old woman is accused of could keep her behind bars for the rest of her life. arrested for trafficking a crusher for the first time Susanna tells her story of how she was burned twice in a romantic scam with an incredible twist that landed her in jail 12,000 kilometers from her home. It all started when her husband, a police officer, died in 2016. He was the only man Susanna had ever been with and she was admittedly naive. 4 years after my husband died, a guy ended up coming to my Facebook asking to be a friend. He seemed like a really nice guy.

Before you know it, he was saying that he was in love with me and he was saying the most beautiful things that just melted your heart, what did it feel like when someone told you how beautiful you were and told you that they were in love with you? You're high, that's the best way to put it. I think the man was a good catch. This is his profile photo. He said that he was an American neurosurgeon working for the United Nations somewhere abroad. She said he was the same age as Suzanna and so was he. She was widowed no matter where she went Susanna was glued to her phone texting with the man she called the good doctor a man who lavished her with love what kind of promises was he making you he said he just wanted to be with me forever he said He wanted to take me around the world and just love me and be with me and that's all he wanted to show.

He said that the military was preparing the procedures to make them husband and wife. How did you think you were married to him then? you had never met him at the time i was deeply in love with him and i wasn't thinking clearly okay to be honest i think they do use mind control the good doctor said he couldn't access his overseas bank accounts and he needed help with his taxes and to pay for a military license to come see her. Susanna dipped into her savings and when they ran out she took out loans and then asked her adult children for money.

Her son and her daughter Angela became suspicious of her and You are all children and wondering why she needs all this money. When did they realize that the money she needed was tied to this guy she had met? My sister was like, well, she only asked me for $1,500. I ended up responding. Why is she asking for money when she just got a loan? They called the police, who confirmed that Dr. Williams Walter was a fake. The photo was stolen and Susanna's money disappeared forever. How much money did you give him in total? I think it was $25,000. in the end for you to say that now that you gave him $25,000 how does that feel like nonsense?

Susanna, humiliated and heartbroken, moved into her daughter Angela's guest room, where she slept next to a photo of her late husband. The only thing she could think about was how to prevent other women from making the same mistake. Tell me a little about your decision to write this book. I thought if I could tell just one person that the book was worth it, she wrote her story in long handwriting describing in detail how she got sucked. You're still online, yes, and you know another man, yes, his name was James Kwood or that's who he said he was.

The main difference with him is that he started calling me and talked to me regularly on the phone, so I thought. He's fine, there has to be some legitimacy and you know he seemed like a good guy and he was being very polite to what I was trying to do. James Kwood used this photo and claimed to be an American military commando stationed in Asia. Susanna emailed him transcripts. of her book about getting scammed and he would encourage her to write in a moment, he says I'm working on a surprise for you, I'll bring you here, is what he said before she knew it, they sent her this plane ticket to the target.

Ethiopia in East Africa, was there any part of you that thought this just doesn't seem right? This guy I've never met is flying me to the other side of the world and he's footing the bill, not really, because I did believe in my heart that God could have been giving me a miracle. He just wanted an adventure. I just wanted an adventure. Suzanna, who had never traveled outside of Canada before, embarked on an adventure that would go horribly wrong. He arrived in the capital of Addis Aenue AB on August 12, 2022. He said that if nothing else happens between him and me, at least I can thank him for everything he has done because he helped me with my book, gave me this flight and gave me the confidence that a driver was waiting at the airport and Susan.

They took me to a hotel where the staff seemed to be waiting for her, even the manager welcomed her. I felt like a princess, a queen, honestly, and was taken to a room where I freshened up. I went downstairs, but James, the man I had hoped to finally meet in person, was No downstairs, where was James? You were supposed to meet James and Addis. Well, James told me when he called me that he told me that he would be behind me for a couple of days, but that he would meet me at the hotel. James Kwood.

I called Suzanna the next day and the next day I told her I was waiting for her replacement before I could join her. The days turned into weeks. I go for a walk and even tell the person at the front desk and tell him if James asks, shh, not him. I don't know why you didn't want him to know you were walking because he didn't want me to go anywhere he wanted me to stay at the hotel he asked you to stay at the hotel but that's not me I can't. Susanna spent her days in the hotel cafe or exploring.

She texted her daughter photos of her outings while I waited. I was enjoying part of Africa. She never met James, but she was occasionally visited by these two men who claimed to be hers. Susanna's associates filmed this video when they took her to get a COID test and looked for cars for sale by the looks of it. 3 weeks passed and Susanna's Ethiopian visa was about to expire and then James dropped another surprise: she was taking her somewhere else in Hong Kong. I said: why are you sending me to Hong Kong? He says because that's where I'll be hours before her flight.

The man who had been checking on her for James arrived at the hotel with a strange gift: this suitcase full of new clothes. The man took this photo of Suzanna wearing one of the gifts. I felt like wow. I still felt like a princess. The flight from Ethiopia to Hong Kong took 11 hours. How did you feel while landing in Hong Kong? I was very excited. I thought gez, at least now I'm going to meet him because I really thought he was going to show up here. Susanna picked up her suitcase from the luggage carousel and headed towards the exit and then something happened that would change everything.

The bag broke two of the The women helped me put it together and I said well, where am I supposed to go? I don't know where I'm going and she says, well you can go this way and they scan the bag and the next thing I know they started searching. My bag and that's when everything went wrong 12,000 km away in Barry Ontario. Anna's daughter Angela was tracking her mother on a GPS phone app. She could see that the flight had landed, so I texted her several times. Where are you? What's going on? Checking every half hour just to find out where I was and then finding out my location disappeared and then I started panicking.

Angela had no way of knowing that her mother was being detained with DEA ​​by Airport Customs. This is the handwritten report of what they found when they searched her suitcase. The English translation details the discovery of large circular buttons and abnormally heavy dresses. It describes how they used a sharp point to poke inside the buttons. What they found inside her luggage.

cocaine

on dress buttons on the dress that were apparently a gift to me did you have any idea there was

cocaine

on those buttons? I didn't even know there were buttons let alone cocaine at what point did you realize oh my god I've been scammed again and this time it's going to cost me more than just money when they finally put me in handcuffs and arrest me for trafficking in this small town , they gave my grandmother the full drug dealer treatment, accused her with a hood and paraded her in front of the cameras when they put that hood over my head.

They didn't even tell me they were doing it. I felt like I was being kidnapped to this day. I felt like I had been kidnapped. He was afraid of dying in prison. Hope fades as time passes. She will never come home. I'll never do it. I'll see my mom again when W5 continues Hong Kong is best known for its lively Sky High Towers markets and harbor views, but a Canadian woman who's been here for 9 months hasn't seen any of it - in fact, Susanna hasn't She has seen much more than inside this prison She claims to be an unwitting victim of a romantic scam The police say she is a criminal A drug dealer What was the conversation like when you had to call your daughter Angela and tell her what happened One of the most difficult ones that I had to make do and I said, I'm sorry, you know, I said I didn't know and I felt terrible.

Also, it was very embarrassing to think that, oh my god, I've been scammed again. The Hong Kong police issued this press release with photos of a hooded man. Susanna theer and the clothing buttons inside her suitcase 262 buttons that were filled with more than a kilo of cocaine Susanna was transported to the Thailam Correctional Institute a maximum security prison for women She was afraid of dying in prison and never to return seeing my family, that fear was also felt on the other side of the world in Canada. I was thinking, oh my God, like she's never coming home.

I will never see my mother again and so her distraught daughter Angela made the decision that she would. going to Hong Kong to visit her mother in prison W5 documented her long journey from Barry Ontario we are about 15 minutes from the prison how are you feeling with mixed emotions? um I feel like I want to cry too it's exciting at the end of this week I can go home and she won't be able to be okay good luck okay thank you Angela went into prison knowing she would only get a 15 minute visit each day those minutes inside They seemed like seconds, what was the first thing he said to you?

I love you and I'm sorry I fell I cried I couldn't stop crying I just wanted to hug her It hurt to see her on that side and there was nothing I could do The next day Angela made the trip back to prison for her second 15 minute visit and then a devastating phone call that changed everything so I basically can't see my mom the rest of the week okay thanks bye what happened Co what someone has Co in prison. my mom was a close contact, so she's now in quarantine, which means I can't see her the rest of this week.

I mean, you've traveled so far for 15 minutes, if I can't see her, I just want to go home when you find her. I heard that you couldn't have a second visit, but Angela is here in Hong Kong, but she couldn't see you. What did that do to you? She killed me. I felt like the life had been ripped out of me. They didn't want me to do it. Look, my daughter Angela traveled 12,000 kilometers for a 15-minute visit to her mother. She flew back to Canada and began our investigation. How long is she waiting? Well, expect a serious prison sentence.

We wanted to find out from Hong Kong lawyer Michael Arthur exactly what Susanna. which she faced in her criminal case if someone was stopped at the airport with drugs arriving in Hong Kong. The Prosecutor's Office says it is a solid case that that person was carrying drugs, we don't care if she knew it or not and it doesn't matter how often she said I was scammed and didn't know it. Sorry, we have a case here. This must be processed. In fact, I'm making a video. There is key evidence in Ethiopia that could help Susanna prove that she was deceived.

You have to do it. Try, yes, there is a video she took of the men associated with James Kwood and his security cameras.hotel could have captured the person who delivered the suitcase full of drugs. Our repeated requests to the Ethiopian police to investigate have been ignored and that is why we have come. I've come to a seedy area of ​​Hong Kong to meet a man who has made a name for himself by helping women like Susanna. These people are often vulnerable, lonely, financially needy, easily fooled and unfortunately targeted by the big fish as I call them. not a detective or a private eye John Weatherspoon, 77, is a Catholic priest, prison chaplain and the man behind a global campaign called No More Mules through his charity Mercy Hong Kong.

Father John Advocates on behalf of unsuspecting drug mules in Hong Kong. Kong Prisons sometimes even helps investigate and collect evidence for their trials. What do you think the chances are of ever finding the people who groomed Susanna? Good question. Maybe not great odds, but there are plenty of 17 clues that Loompa could be Susanna's time. Father John had better be about to embark on an eight-nation tour warning about the dangers of drug

smuggling

to Hong Kong and one of his stops is Ethiopia. He has agreed to take on Susanna's case and try to gather evidence while he is there.

We know the room. Where did he stay, we know that guy traveled to that hotel several times, so we're hoping that kind of information can lead to an arrest. Weeks later, Father John arrives in the capital in Ababa. He connected him with W5 freelance journalist Samuel Gachu in hopes they can track down hotel surveillance video. If we can gather the CCTV, they approach the man in the hotel, if he agrees, maybe we don't need permission from the police, if he agrees. help us said it was a must, the answer is no, so we bombarded anyone who would listen with requests for help, including the Ethiopian police and the Canadian consulate, a breakthrough was finally made, the police agreed to order the hotel to hand over the images surveillance of Angela, Susanna's daughter. in Canada it is the first good news in months, yes, it was a great advance because it was like the key puzzle to really prove my mother's innocence and capture who the real bad guy was, but that video was another blow to Susanna's case . mysteriously deleted by someone at the hotel and I was really angry that they could do that, what reason would they have to delete it?

Well, if they're removing it, they have something to hide. It's unlike anything I've ever seen or investigated before. Surely Detective Sergeant Chris Nicholson is a fraud investigator in Angela's hometown of Barry Ontario, although he is well beyond the reach of a Municipal Police agency. Detective Nicholson took a full report from Angela and contacted police in Ethiopia to request surveillance of the hotel. He was sent the drive in hopes that his cyber team could restore those deleted files. It was a very worrying answer I told Reed from the Police Service. What were they asking for? They were asking for a cash payment to free him.

Wait, the police in Ethiopia are telling you to give us money and we will give you the correct hard drive. Yeah, I'm not ready to be black M and get a test, so hopes of getting the hard drive are dead. I had to endure that I would never get these security images, so he had reached a giant dead end and Detective Nicholson was hoping that his words could help free Susanna. This was just a last ditch effort to try to hopefully reach someone's ears. that last ditch effort, a letter she sent to the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong, believing she could then share it with a prosecutor involved in Susanna's case, just a couple of paragraphs about what romance scams are and here's Susanna and when you keep Susanna next to the prototypical romance scam, so to speak, is a perfect match, so you recognize that you are never going to catch the people who did this to Susanna, but maybe you can play a role in helping her get out of prison .

Yes, my number one priority was to catch her. released from prison uh and then having her return home safely from her and then the unexpected on day 270 of your incarceration, everything changed, it did 100%. I couldn't believe what was happening so they told you that if you want to talk to your family, you have to do this interview with us without a lawyer ex exactly an interrogation with suspicious intentions I signed it only because they told me I had to sign it when W5 continues Susanna Fyer , 65, has been detained in a Hong Kong prison for nearly 9 months on drug trafficking charges, her request to be released on bail was denied due to what the prosecution said was strong evidence against her and then Our first documentary about Susanna's ordeal, Cocaine Buttons, aired when you first heard what your mother was being accused of in what happened.

He thinks I'll never see my mom again. It racked up millions of views on YouTube, including in Hong Kong legal circles, shortly after Susanna was unexpectedly summoned to this court. I didn't get any warning and neither did she. Everything happened so fast, it's like her head is spinning, isn't it? Yes, it's Hong Kong lawyer Michael Arthur, who has been closely involved in Susanna's plight, says for no reason given that the case against her was dropped, how unusual that is for a drug

smuggling

charge. being removed like that before it even reaches Tri is very unusual what I want to know is what changed between the time the prosecution said the evidence against it was strong and when the case was dropped, something must have happened, everything that I can conclude and What I really don't know is that they watched your program.

I think it puts a little pressure on them. OMG, 270 days after arriving in Hong Kong, this is beautiful. Susanna finally gets to see the city she feared she would never leave. of the air from the ships on your face it's like a dream I didn't know I would ever see you a free woman I can't get over it because I think you played a big part in helping me free myself you don't even know why Why did they suddenly say I'm free ? Susanna has realized that this is over, this is over, you are going home not 100%.

I don't think, I think once I'm on the plane and I landed. In Canada it will be a completely different world again. Nor has it really sunk in for Father John, who was the prison chaplain who tried to obtain evidence in Ethiopia and repeatedly visited Susanna behind her bars. Good to see you. I can not believe it. Look well here this is hard to believe this happened OMG when they told me at 9:30 that they were going to discharge me hey mom how are you I'm fine you're free you're fine I In fact, I'm free. Yes, they let me go this morning.

They dropped my case completely. It's not a dream. Okay, it's not a dream. I thought it was a dream too and suddenly it was like, "Oh my God, this is real. I love you." like wow, I'm really out. Father John has arranged for Susanna to stay here while she completes the final paperwork to bring her back to Canada. It's not luxurious, but of course, it's not prison. What was that like when you opened your eyes and realized? I wasn't in jail, I went out on the balcony and this bird literally came and landed near me and started singing like it was talking to me and it was so beautiful Susanna is making the most of her new

freedom

but the memories The prison charges They are still so fresh.

I was saying Ling Ling Ling

14000

0 which was my inmate number, they stripped you of all your identity there and I felt like I had abandoned my family, it was like I was dead because when you are in prison. it has no meaning there is also anger some of this comes from what happened here at the Hong Kong airport when she was first arrested Susanna says they kept her here and interrogated her for days before she was charged we have the video of the final interrogation how do you feel about it? seeing him scared and nervous because it was right before I was charged with traffic.

The interrogation video lasts 97 minutes on the surface. It seems pretty standard. Please say her name and her passport number. My name is Susanna and I don't know my passport. number without looking at it. I'm sorry, but within a few minutes it becomes clear that Susanna felt pressured to speak without a lawyer. Did she agree to conduct this video interview in the absence of her legal representatives? She'd rather not. They told me I had to do it, so I answer it honestly, so they told you that if you want to talk to your family you have to do this interview with the lawyer exactly and in the video of the interrogation Susanna reveals that she felt forced to sign some documents, please.

I recognize this SW, yes I signed that, however I only signed it because I was told I had to sign it in order to continue the process and be able to make a phone call which I was never allowed to do, so you recognized this. I even recognize it. although I don't agree with being accused of something she had no knowledge of over the course of an hour and a half Susanna tells her story of being scammed and repeatedly proclaims her innocence. I didn't know she even had drugs in my hand. bag I didn't know they were on the buttons at the top at one point they took the contents of her suitcase out and put it on the table marking my head was spinning at that moment for sure, can you recognize this one?

I honestly don't remember seeing any of them, okay, okay, all I saw were some bright colors, that was when they started coming out with these dresses and then the button bag, what's going through your mind, I can't believe this, this can not. be happening, you know how ironic it is that I don't like buttons, look at the clothes I brought, do I have buttons, do I have buttons, you say this, I see it now, but I didn't know anything about that, I can see you getting more and more irritated and combative before they made this videotape, they went through everything with me beforehand and spent hours interrogating me, so there were two separate types of interrogations, one without cameras and then this one with cameras, says Susanna.

Before the video camera was turned on, she was handcuffed to the chair and interrogated for 16 hours, all without a lawyer. This Cas, did you have any feelings? Do you want to tell us? I did not do it? Alright? a drug dealer that I didn't know, maybe I'm still getting naive because of what the guy did to me, the good doctor as I call him in my book, I don't know why I think people are honest, I'm a child of God. Okay, I believe in God as much as you wouldn't believe and I've been praying to him the last few days telling him what happened, what's wrong, why did this happen?

If you notice, I said the last few days because that's how long I was there right before they arched me I don't do bad things but bad things seem to happen to me why why that's the question okay time now it's 203 and the job video is over the job interview ok when this was over they put a bag over your head and I took a picture of you, yeah what was that like when that bag went on? I felt like I was a murderer. I wanted to collapse and I think they were literally holding me up because my legs turned to jelly.

I couldn't. I don't think so, we have questions for the Hong Kong Department of Justice why Susanna was denied a lawyer and why her case was dropped so suddenly. Our interview request was rejected. Instead, they sent us this statement. The Justice Department does not comment on individuals. In these cases, a prosecution would only be initiated if there is sufficient admissible evidence to demonstrate a reasonable prospect of conviction. Suzanna wants answers and has sent this letter to the Hong Kong Court of First Instance and it is from her home in Canada, lawyer Michael Arthur has reviewed it.

He says he would like to know the exact date on which it was decided to abandon the proceedings, in other words, whether she was still in prison while they had decided there would be no case against her, whether she was serving time, if you will. that she should not have been complying and I assume that you as a lawyer would like to know that because she could help you in future cases. It would be very correct if we knew the real reason why they did it, but I'm not sure we'll ever get that right now the only thing Suzanna is focused on is returning to Canada with the immigration paperwork almost complete.

She scours local markets for some last-minute gifts. We are very happy to see you outside. I'm sure Jane feels the same, yes she makes me feel like all our hard work is worth it. Yes, Father John and social worker Jane Chow devoted a great deal of time and energy to Susanna's case. They want to make sure she doesn't do it. get in trouble again you have to be careful now everyone thinks no, please God, no more problems, this is the second time, not the third time, not next time, no more times, you have to be careful with the Internet and don't there's online dating please oh god that's taboo even for me.

I already decided in prison a long time ago. I became a different person. Why do you think some people in your family can't get over this? A broken family not ready to forgive. I always thought thatThey would back me up when W5 continues. I'm in disbelief, honestly, I can't believe I'm on my way to the airport to begin with. I'm going home. Susanna Feer returns to the Hong Kong airport where she lost. Your Freedom has been in my heart for so many months. I don't know what's going to happen when I get to the airport or I'm going to see these security guards and this Customs that are putting me in prison.

They're going to search me again for 12,000. One kilometer away, in Canada. , her daughter Angela is full of anticipation. I can't believe this is real. Am I really going to see my mom? She's done. First I'm going to Tokyo, well there's CX 548, where are we going as volunteers with Father John? The mission helps Susanna navigate Hong Kong's sprawling airport. Hello, she hands him the documents that allow him to leave the country and then, a few tense moments when they call a supervisor. I was innocent. Okay, they dropped the charges. Oh, you have paid for the forgiveness you have.

I paid the fee to stay longer, right, yeah, them, I was in jail 'cause they locked me up and then they dropped the charges, so they let me go, so I'm trying to get home, so maybe after I check you out, yeah , I have to go. to immigration law because this has to reach them too, yes, Susanna manages to pass through immigration without incident, she returns home 14 hours later, her daughter Angela takes her to Toronto Pearson Airport in the arrivals hall she scans the faces of the passengers looking for their mother is that my mom that myom I missed you a lot I missed you too I'm really glad you were home when you came in I'm a little blind I'm like wait pink I think that's mommy that's mommy that's mommy I'm very happy that you are at home fire I am happy that you are back Mom Susanna is back living in her daughter Angela's guest room trying to put her life in order Back together, how do you feel you have changed after this incredible experience of having been scammed once, twice, turned into a drug mule and then imprisoned?

Now I'm more cautious. I felt like I was going to spend the rest of my life and die. in jail and that's why I'm happy to be able to sit here today and that's the good ending of what happened to me, it may only have been nine months, but nine months is a lifetime, you know, because life is precious, not for everyone. In Susanna's family I have been able to forgive or forget one of the things that kept me going when I was in prison was knowing that I had family to come home to and when you get home you know that that family is not there and that is something that is very difficult why do you think some people in your family can't get over this?

I think it's because they feel like victims and they don't even realize that you are a victim of a crime that you are committing. the person who was actually the one who was injured lost the support of some members of her family she lost her life savings and for 270 days her

freedom

but there is one thing that Susanna has not lost have you given up the prospect of finding a healthy love in your life no, I hope there is someone out there who truly believes in me for who I am, respects me for who I am and can love me for who I am 2 months after returning from Hong Kong Suzanna will go on a first date with a real person Man, now let's go fishing, this is freedom, yeah, isn't it wonderful?

You are doing great, you are natural and I am legit. I love it. I'm legit. There are still some good ones. out there I would love to be able to say I love you to someone with my heart and for them to give it to me in return because you have nothing if you don't have love if you missed our first investigation the cocaine buttons you can see it on the official YouTube channel of w5