Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mr Joey Bimha yesterday said they had received reports of less than 10 Zimbabweans arrested in China over drug trafficking with about three women on death row in Beijing.

Mr Bimha’s assertions put paid to claims by Goromonzi National Assembly member, Cde Beata Nyamupinga, who told the National Assembly on Tuesday that more than 1 000 Zimbabweans, mostly women, have been trafficked to China alone, with 200 of them in jail and on death row for drug trafficking.

Introducing a motion on human trafficking in the National Assembly Cde Nyamupinga, who is also chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs, said most of the women trafficked to China were married to Nigerians.

She claimed the women were arrested after they were caught with wedding gowns loaded with hard drugs.

But Mr Bimha last night said they had received reports of a far less figure.

“Our embassy has told us that less than 10 Zimbabweans mostly women were arrested in China for drug trafficking. About two or three were on death row after they were found with drugs in suitcases and one of them has since died in custody. These are the last figures we last got from our embassy in China. We will, however, check with our embassy in Beijing to establish if the figure has risen to that level,” said Mr Bimha.

In her contribution, Cde Nyamupinga said 34 percent of African countries were major sources of human trafficking to Europe while 26 percent of victims from mostly in East African countries were trafficked to Arab states.

“We have about 200 Zimbabweans and the majority of the 200 are women on the death row in China because they have been used by Nigerians who are coming here, marrying them through an Act (of Parliament) that we enacted in this House. They marry them and then ask them go to China to buy their wedding gowns. As they go to China to buy the wedding gowns, they are given a bag, which is called false bottom and in that false bottom, there are drugs packed in there,” said Cde Nyamupinga.