All language subtitles for Trafficked.S04E09

[♪ ambient music]

[Mariana van Zeller] So I
got a message on Instagram

a little over a year ago from
somebody saying that her dad

was a victim of a scam,

and explaining everything
that happened,

and asking if there was
anything I could do to help.

The message said, "Finding
your show is the first glimpse

of hope I've had in two years.

Google 'Rodney Baldus'.

He's my father,

and he will die in prison
if I can't figure out

how to bring him home."

She said she was the daughter
of a 70-year-old grandfather

from Minnesota, she claimed
is wrongfully imprisoned on

drug trafficking charges
9,000 miles away,

in Mozambique, Africa.

When I responded, I had no
idea I'd be pulled into a

global search for answers.

Climbing the ladder of a
sophisticated African Mafia

I never knew existed.

[Mariana van Zeller] My mission,
to go undercover and

come face-to-face
with Rodney's scammers.

[Mariana van Zeller] Whose
goal is to transform ordinary

citizens into criminals.

[camera shutter]

[♪ theme music plays]

You know I get a lot of
messages from people who think

they're being scammed,

but yours particularly
resonated with me,

because it's actually a scam
that I've never heard about,

but also because I'm very
close with my own father.

So Nicole, tell me what
happened to your dad.

Should I start way back
at the beginning?

Mm-hmm.

Okay, so after my mom died...

[Mariana van Zeller] Nicole
tells me her father, Rodney,

was a down-on-his-luck,
out of work truck driver,

when he started receiving
a series of emails.

It seemed to be an unbelievable
stroke of good fortune,

a previously unknown
relative in Italy had

left Rodney an inheritance
of $10.5 million.

And they said it was sort
of a distant family member?

[Nicole Baldus] Mm-hmm.

Yeah, and they had said
that they reached out to other

family members and received
no response from them,

and that he was the next
in line to be contacted.

[Mariana van Zeller] The
emails asked Rodney to pay a

processing fee to release
his inheritance,

but Rodney was broke.

No problem, they said, and
then they offered a solution.

If Rodney agreed to travel
to Maputo, Mozambique,

everything would be paid for.

He would sign some documents
there, they would then take

them to Europe to
claim his $10.5 million.

[Nicole Baldus] And when he
came to my house and told me,

the first thing I thought of
was, like, okay you're going

to get kidnapped and
put into a diamond mine.

So, you were skeptical
right from the beginning?

[Nicole Baldus] I was. I was.

But, I think once they said
that they would pay for it

all, that's what got him.

Why are they going to fly me
halfway across the world

if this isn't real?

[Mariana van Zeller] So, this is
the email that started it all?

[Nicole Baldus] Mm-hmm.

- Is that right?
- Yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] And it
comes from Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

Which is interesting, because
Goodluck Jonathan was actually

the president of Nigeria.

Rodney also received emails
from someone impersonating

the governor of
Nigeria's Central Bank.

"Our payment officials that
you will meet will give you

some gift items, capable of
enticing our other officials

at the payment transfer
centers in other countries."

So, basically, they were
already immediately telling him

that they were gonna give
him a bag with something

that he was going to
have to transport.

And did you go through
these emails, by the way,

before he left?

[Nicole Baldus] No.
Uh-uh.

So you only had access
to these emails...

- After, yep.
- Okay.

[Mariana van Zeller] According
to Nicole, when Rodney arrived

in Mozambique, he was met
at his hotel by someone

who handed him a suitcase.

On July 26th, 2019,

while attempting to
board his next flight,

airport security pulled
him aside and discovered

that hidden inside
the suitcase was heroin.

A lot of heroin.

[Mariana van Zeller]
The story exploded into

a national news scandal.

[Mariana van Zeller] An
American drug-trafficker

caught red-handed.

A few months after his arrest,
Rodney Baldus was tried,

convicted, and sentenced
to 18 years in prison.

Knowing her father is likely
to die behind bars,

Nicole has spent
the past four years

desperately trying to
prove his innocence.

[Nicole Baldus] I understand
where people perceive it as,

"Well, he should have known."

But my dad was going through
a lot of... emotional stuff.

He was really lonely.

[Mariana van Zeller] Rodney's
wife had passed away, and

Nicole believes her
father was desperate

to save the family farm.

This financial windfall
would allow him to do it.

[Nicole Baldus] My dad
knew how much I wanted that.

And uh, he thought that,

you know, maybe if I can
actually make this work,

then I can buy the farm.

That was his motivation,
was trying to save the farm.

A once in a lifetime thing.

What if it were actually true?

70 years old, widowed, broke,

living in the middle of nowhere.

I mean, he was a
perfect target.

[Mariana van Zeller] I've
reported on scamming operations

from West Africa
to the West Indies,

and the Middle East.

But I've never seen
anything like Rodney's case.

Most scams take place
inside the internet.

Scammers and their victims
never physically interact.

But Rodney met his
contacts face-to-face.

Which leads me to my
biggest question,

was Rodney a willing
drug trafficker?

Or did someone else
turn him into a mule?

And if so, who?

[whirring]

[cawing]

To answer these questions,

I need to get closer to the
scene of the crime.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Hilario Sabonete is the

defense attorney who represented
Rodney Baldus at his trial.

[Mariana van Zeller] When I
ask Hilario if the hotel had

security camera footage

that could have verified
Rodney's claims,

he said he requested
this from the court,

but only the court could have
subpoenaed this evidence.

Hilario emailed Nicole and

repeatedly asked her
to wire him $5,000,

for a very particular reason.

"For your father to
get out of jail,

you have to buy the judge,
bribe the judge,

and this is done by talking
to him once or twice."

[Mariana van Zeller]
Hilario Sabonete, Nicole Baldus.

[speaking English]
This is normal.

A bribery to a judge is
very normal in Mozambique.

I wasn't able to independently
verify whether Hilario offered

this money to the judge.

[speaking Portuguese].

[Mariana van Zeller] He tries
to convince me it was for

his services, not a bribe.

[speaking Portuguese]

[Mariana van Zeller] But
the only thing he proves

is that this whole case stinks,

from the lack of evidence
presented by the defense,

to what I learn next.

[Mariana van Zeller] It's
hard for me to believe that

Rodney was sentenced to 18 years
in prison in just a single day.

And no further investigation

was conducted by the
local authorities.

The public prosecutor never
responded to my request

for an interview.

And the United States
embassy officially declined.

I was unable to reach the
judge who handled

Rodney's case for comment.

I'm 10,000 miles
away from home,

and no closer to the truth.

Which means there's only one
person left for me to talk to

and one place left to go.

Okay, so I think this is it.

Yeah, this is it.

The gates of the prison.

[chatter]

[Rodney Baldus] I admit,
I'm naive. I'm stupid.

That's what I'm guilty of.

I am not guilty of
being a drug trafficker.

[♪ classical music]

[♪ classical music]

[Rodney Baldus] I did not expect
to end up in this situation.

But here I am.

[Mariana van Zeller] Machava
prison was built to house

800 inmates,

but today, it's packed with
three times that number.

And 70-year-old American,
Rodney Baldus, is one of them.

So when they first started
contacting you and they told you

you had gotten
this inheritance.

[notification tone]

Were you suspicious at all?

After my wife died,
every year they kept saying,

"Well, we need you to send
X number of dollars to us

to pay for the lawyers."

You know, I could never afford
to do anything that they asked.

[Mariana van Zeller] Uh-hmm.

And that was to be able to
release this inheritance

that you thought.

To pay the lawyers to
get it through the courts.

[Mariana van Zeller] Right.

How much was the total
inheritance they told you?

[Rodney Baldus]
10 million five.

10.5 million.

It was also 10.5 million,
the same.

- Same amount?
- Same amount.

[Mariana van Zeller] Rodney
isn't the only foreigner

incarcerated here
for drug trafficking.

Dennis Hawkins is a Canadian
citizen who received

a similar series of emails.

[Dennis Hawkins] I never got an
inheritance from anybody before.

I was just overjoyed.

I was, this is once in
a lifetime right now.

I really believed
the whole thing.

I was like hook,
line, and sinker.

[Mariana van Zeller] Dennis
was also arrested at the

Maputo airport carrying a
suitcase full of heroin,

just 12 hours before Rodney.

It is crazy to me to think that
there are two of you guys here,

American, Canadian, here,
for the exact same reason.

[Rodney Baldus] Well, there
were actually three of us.

[Mariana van Zeller]
There were three of you?

An 85-year-old Californian
named William Vito Rubino

was caught carrying
cocaine and heroin,

two months before
Dennis and Rodney.

[Rodney Baldus] The courts
were the ones that branded us

as three drug runners
working all together.

But we had never met before,
until we got here.

[Mariana van Zeller] Three
older men, each sent to the

same city on the far
side of the world.

This cannot be a coincidence.

When Rodney landed in Maputo,

he didn't even have enough
money to pay for his visa.

So he reached out to one of
the email contacts he believed

represented the bank.

[Rodney Baldus] I sent him a
text that I have no money

to pay for my visa.

And he said, is there a
security guard there?

And I go, yeah.

Those two had a conversation.

[notification tone]

That guard paid my visa.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Had you ever left

the United States before?

[Rodney Baldus]
Just on a cruise.

[♪ singing foreign language]

[Mariana van Zeller] And do
you remember the name of

the hotel you stayed at?

Do you remember.

[Rodney Baldus]
Palm Apartments.

[Mariana van Zeller] It
was the Palm Aparthotel?

- Yeah.
- That's where you stayed?

Rodney was instructed to wait
for a bank representative.

[notification tone]

So that's what he did.

He waited.

[camera shutter]

[Rodney Baldus]
I didn't go out.

I didn't know the area.

I was scared.

So, I just stayed
in the hotel room.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Four or five days passed,

according to Rodney.

[Rodney Baldus] There was a guy
that came that Thursday night.

He showed up at midnight.

[knocking]

He apologized profusely
for not getting there.

He says, I was
stuck in South Africa.

[Mariana van Zeller] Is it
possible he was South African?

[Rodney Baldus] Uh, the
identification he showed me

was South African.

[Mariana van Zeller] Did
you see the name or anything?

[Rodney Baldus] I don't
remember what it was.

And, you know, he dug
out this binder of papers.

And we signed all the papers.

[Mariana van Zeller] Then
Rodney claims he was handed

a suitcase to hold
these bank documents.

But the case also contained
gifts, including two bags of

"candy" for him to take
to his next destination.

[camera shutter]

[camera shutter]

Before he left the country,
he was arrested.

Those bags of "candy"
are what did him in.

[Rodney Baldus] They said,
"You're a drug smuggler.

You're a drug runner."

I said, "No, I'm not."

But nobody
believed a word I said.

[Mariana van Zeller]
As a former Marine,

Rodney hoped that
the U.S. Government

would get involved in his case.

But, so far, they haven't.

[Rodney Baldus]
I will die here.

I have no doubt about that.

[camera shutter]

[Mariana van Zeller] Nicole.

You know she's been trying

everything she can
to get you out.

[sighing]

[Rodney Baldus]
Nicole is my anchor.

She's my baby.

[sniffing]

Sorry.

[Mariana van Zeller]
I'm sorry.

For Rodney, Machava may
feel like the end of the line.

But my investigation is
just getting started.

Rodney said the man who handed
him the drug filled suitcase

was from South Africa.

[camera shutters]

So that's where I head next.

[Nicky Troll] I looked at the
stuff that you guys had sent me.

And, I must say, initially,

I thought it's just
a scam, an online scam.

Until you figure out
who paid for the flight.

[Mariana van Zeller] I know
Rodney didn't pay for his

flights or his hotel room.

Because I have the receipts.

Which I share with Nicky Troll,

one of South Africa's
top investigative journalists.

[Nicky Troll] So I called the
airline and I got information

about who paid for it.

They're based in Nigeria.

[Mariana van Zeller] No way!

[Nicky Troll] Yes.

[Mariana van Zeller] Nicky
tells me that Rodney's tickets

were paid for in cash

at a travel agency 2,500 miles
from Mozambique.

Dennis Hawkins' flight was
booked two days before Rodney's,

also in Nigeria,
and also paid for in cash.

[Nicky Troll] Mariana, you're
on to something really big here.

This is a global network.

You've got players in
South Africa, in Nigeria,

in Mozambique, all connected.

[Mariana van Zeller] So we've
come to the right place.

[Nicky Troll] This is a
bigger network than just

a Mozambican drug syndicate.

It is much bigger
than just one man.

[Mariana van Zeller] I now
know that Rodney's trip was

booked and paid
for by Nigerians.

And that may be the
most important clue

I've uncovered so far.

[Mariana van Zeller] There's
no doubt in your mind that

they're Nigerians, the
people who did this.

[Mariana van Zeller] To
help me understand this

Nigerian connection,

Nicky Troll puts me in
touch with this man,

who I'll call "Mark."

He's a special agent with the
United States Secret Service,

part of an American-led,
international task force

that combats cybercrimes.

[Mariana van Zeller] Black Axe
is a group that's bigger than

the Sinaloa Cartel, than...

[Mariana van Zeller] The, the
mafia, than any of the other

criminal groups that exist.

[Mariana van Zeller] Mark
believes the people who paid for

Rodney's trip are almost
certainly members of Black Axe

or another one of Nigeria's
sophisticated mafias,

whose activities are well
documented on social media.

These criminal organizations
rake in billions of dollars

each year through
internet-based fraud.

And due to South Africa's
advanced infrastructure

and fast internet,

they've established a
massive presence here,

which is why Mark suspects that
Rodney's scammers are close by.

My question is, why use
Rodney as a drug mule?

[news anchor] Elder fraud.

The number of scams targeting
Americans over the age of 60

exploded during the pandemic.

[reporter] Criminals are
conning elderly people into

trafficking drugs.

[Mariana van Zeller] These scams
are becoming so widespread,

they're increasingly covered
by mainstream news.

[news anchor] Found
seven pounds of meth.

[reporter] Drug laden suitcases
being carried by the elderly.

[Mariana van Zeller] Law
enforcement has a name for

the victims: "blind mules."

If I'm going to find the
architects behind Rodney's scam,

Mark tells me I'll need a
well-connected Nigerian source,

one with a clear view
of the scammers' world.

So I got connected to you

through a contact
that we both have.

- Yeah.
- In the Secret Service.

You help them
with information.

[Mariana van Zeller] He
tells me to call him "Ben."

[camera shutter]

[Mariana van Zeller] Black Axe
started among the country's

university students
back in the 1970's,

as a kind of anti-colonial
social justice movement.

But over time, it evolved into
a cult-like secret society

that capitalized on crime.

[camera shutters]

Do you know anyone in that
world that you think would

be willing to talk to us?

[Mariana] Nevertheless,
a few nights later,

Ben finds a veteran Nigerian
scammer, I'll call "Max,"

who's willing
to break that oath.

[Mariana van Zeller] Is that
the group you belong to?

[Mariana van Zeller] Oh, you,
you are a member of Black Axe?

[Mariana van Zeller] Have
you ever heard of a case of a

person who was told that

they had an inheritance
waiting for them in Africa,

and then when
they got that here,

they were used as,
as a, a drug mule?

[Mariana van Zeller] Max
and Ben tell me that most

inheritance scams begin with a
form letter that's created by

the syndicate and emailed to
thousands of potential victims

around the world.

Most people won't ever
respond to these emails.

But eventually someone
takes the bait,

someone like Rodney.

And Nigeria's scammers have a
special name for these victims.

[Mariana van Zeller] Maga.

[Mariana van Zeller] And that
comes from which language?

[Mariana van Zeller] So,
basically, you never get rid

of a person that you're
communicating with online.

The idea is that at some
point, this person might,

might be valuable for you.

[Mariana van Zeller] Huh.

[Mariana van Zeller] My next
stop to see if this brotherhood

can connect me with a
Black Axe drug dealer,

one who can finally
shine a light on how

a Maga was turned into a mule.

[♪ ominous music]

So you pay the person that
gives you the contact...

[Mariana van Zeller]
The scammer basically.

He tells me to call him 'Chris'.

He's a drug smuggler who works
with the Nigerian syndicates.

And though he claims he didn't
hand Rodney the suitcase

that sealed his fate,

he admits that "blind mules"
are commonly used by Black Axe

and other criminal
organizations.

So, the drugs that
he was carrying,

he says unknowingly carrying,

it looked like it was candy.

It didn't look
like it was drugs.

Chris knows exactly what I mean,
because he's done this before.

So, it's drugs.

[Chris] Hmm.

[Mariana van Zeller] Wrapped in,
as if they were candy.

[Mariana van Zeller]
What kind?

[Mariana van Zeller] Crystal.

Is it all the candy or
just some of them have...

- Just some of them?
- Yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] Have you
ever reached out to scammers

telling them you were looking
for a victim who was older?

To, to be the drug mules,
to traffic the drugs.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Because they're less, um.

- Suspicious?
- Yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] He says
this particular strategy is

part of a 10,000 mile
trafficking route both the

U.S. Secret Service and
Max and Ben told me about.

And so, the corridor usually is,

that it comes through the
east coast of Africa and

through Tanzania, Mozambique,
down to South Africa?

[Mariana van Zeller] And that,
is that mainly heroin?

[Mariana van Zeller] It's called
"the Southern Route."

Heroin is produced in
Taliban-controlled Afghanistan

and then moved into Pakistan,
where it's smuggled inside

shipping vessels that
cross the Arabian Sea.

Arriving at African ports like
the one in Maputo, Mozambique,

where the Nigerian
syndicates take over.

From there, they send the drugs
north into European markets

using "Magas," clueless
drug mules like Rodney.

I think there's a, a
misconception, in my opinion,

that the people that are
victims of this are either

very naive or not very smart.

Do you think everybody can
eventually become a Maga?

- Yes.
- Yes.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Everybody is scammable?

[Mariana van Zeller]
Are you guys scammable?

[Mariana van Zeller] It's time
for me to put this idea

to the test.

From the start of
my investigation,

Nicole gave me
all of the emails

that Rodney received
from his scammers.

So I decided to write them back,

not as Mariana van Zeller,
but as a Maga.

You see, to catch a scammer,
I have to play the fool.

I use a fake name and say
I'm a friend of Rodney's

following up on his inheritance,

a friend who's doing
business in Johannesburg.

Perhaps we can meet.

After a few weeks
of back and forth,

Rodney's scammers take the bait.

[phone ringing]

[Mariana van Zeller] Hello,
is this Mr. Gilbert Wilson?

This is Zoey,
we're supposed to meet today.

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay,
I'm going to text you the name

of the hotel and we can meet
there in about 30 minutes.

[Mariana van Zeller] Very good.
I will talk to you in a bit.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Thank you so much.

[♪ anticipatory music]

[Mariana van Zeller]
Which is where, here?

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay.

[Mariana van Zeller] Uh-huh.

[Mariana van Zeller] Catfishing
the Nigerian mafia is dangerous,

which is why I've called in
Joe van der Walt and his team

to watch my back.

Joe's a former officer in
the South African military,

who now specializes in private
security throughout Africa.

[Joe van der Walt]
Security is priority.

Loss of life is nonnegotiable.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Okay, let's do it.

I'm scheduled to meet Rodney's
scammer at a nearby hotel.

He calls himself
"Mr. Gilbert Wilson."

[rustling]

Once I arrive, my team and I
activate the hidden cameras

we're using to
capture my meeting.

Now, I simply have to sit and
wait for Mr. Gilbert Wilson.

[Mariana van Zeller] Huh.

Joe and his security
team are also here,

strategically positioned
for my safety.

After a 15-minute wait,
my contact finally arrives.

[Mariana van Zeller] Zoey.
Mr. Wilson, how are you doing?

[Mariana van Zeller] Mr. Wilson
believes I'm a friend of

Rodney's named 'Zoey'.

Would you like to sit down?

Would you like
something to drink?

[Gilbert Wilson] Okay.
We'll sit outside.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Sure, outside.

[Gilbert Wilson] Oh, yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] Sure.
Is that better for you?

[Gilbert Wilson] Yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] He
immediately alters the plan,

and wants us to move
to another table.

I'm worried that Joe
won't be able to see me,

but I have no choice.

- How are you?
- How are you doing?

Good, how are you?

- Good.
- Tell me...

[Mariana van Zeller] I know.
So I've been in touch.

You're here because
of Mr. Godwin...

[Mariana van Zeller]
Emefiele, right?

One of Rodney's scammers
called himself Godwin Emefiele.

I've been emailing with him.
I don't know him.

But I know Mr.,
uh, Rodney Baldus.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Um, who you...

[Mariana van Zeller] Yes.
That's correct.

But we're still talking about
the $10.7 million, correct?

[Mariana van Zeller] We're still
talking about the inheritance?

[Mariana van Zeller] And
it's still 10.7 million.

[Mariana van Zeller] $10.6.

[Mariana van Zeller] I didn't
bring anything with me,

but I can go get...

[Mariana van Zeller] My
passport information.

It's up in my room.

Okay. You'll wait for me.

I step away from the table
and pretend to go to my room.

But when I return, I'm ready
to confront this man,

and I've brought back up.

Joe is with me, in
case things go sideways.

So, Mr. Wilson, I'm actually
going to come clean with you.

I'm a journalist.

[Gilbert Wilson] Okay.

[Mariana van Zeller] And I'm
doing an investigation into

what happened to
Mr. Rodney Baldus.

[Mariana van Zeller] Mr. Rodney
Baldus, the person I just

told you about, and I would
very much like to talk to you

or whoever you work
with about the situation.

[Mariana van Zeller] You know
who Rodney Baldus is

because that's the person that

we started by talking about,
I just asked you.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Rodney Baldus.

Mr. Wilson, or whoever
this man really is,

pretends he doesn't know
what I'm talking about.

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay.
Mr. Wilson, Gilbert, right?

Wilson Gilbert.

[Mariana van Zeller] Your name.
What's your name?

[Mariana van Zeller] Charles.

No. You got here, you
asked me if I was Zoey.

[Mariana van Zeller] Do you
know Mr. Godwin, do you know

Mr. Godwin Emefiele?

[Mariana van Zeller] So I know
that you are not telling me

the truth because we
just had this conversation.

[Gilbert Wilson] I have...

[Mariana van Zeller]
And it was recorded.

And I would very much like...

- I am. I am.
- All right.

Do you know the problem,
what it is with what you do,

is that you're putting innocent
men in prison, right?

[Mariana van Zeller] He excuses
himself and leaves the scene.

[Mariana van Zeller] But Joe
warns me that we also need

to leave, and quickly.

We've exposed a very profitable
criminal organization,

and we've captured one of
its members on camera,

if we're not careful,
they could come after us.

[Joe van der Walt] The concern
is, is that once we exited,

is somebody tailing us?

[Mariana van Zeller]
We drive until we're sure

we've lost any tail.

Then find a safe
place to regroup.

Up until this point,
they were ghosts.

[Joe van der Walt] Yeah.

[Mariana van Zeller] These
people didn't exist,

apart from an email address,

and now we actually have a face

and a person
that we've met with.

We know they're real.

And we know that these are the
people that were involved

in what happened to Rodney.

As a journalist, I'm usually
more of an observer,

but in this case, it's
become very personal.

That's because I have proof
that Rodney was scammed,

and he's stuck in prison

while his scammers
are still out there,

fishing for
their next victims.

I know exactly where
I need to go next,

to share this evidence
with the one person

who believed in Rodney's
innocence from the start.

His daughter.

[cawing]

[Mariana van Zeller] Did you
ever think that you'd be coming

to Mozambique?

That you'd actually
be here one day?

[Nicole Baldus]
Absolutely not.

It's still not real.

[Mariana van Zeller]
Nicole Baldus has made the

9,000 mile journey from
small town Minnesota

to Maputo, Mozambique.

What has he said
about you coming here?

[Nicole Baldus] He has told me,
"Do not come here," many times.

But I told him that it's
not up to him anymore.

I just want to hug him,
you know?

Feel him.

He's still on this planet,
you know?

It's been so long.

Four years is a long time to
go without seeing a parent

that you're used to
seeing almost every day.

[♪ emotional music]

[Mariana van Zeller] Okay.

[inaudible chatter]

[♪ emotional music]

[♪ emotional music]

[crying]

[♪ emotional music]

[♪ emotional music]

[♪ emotional music]

[Mariana van Zeller] Separated
by thousands of miles, this is

the first time that Nicole has
embraced her father since the

morning he boarded that
fateful flight to Mozambique.

[Nicole Baldus] No matter how
knowledgeable you think your

elder parents are,

always be asking questions.

Because you never know.

He was so
depressed at that time.

And a lot of times,
going on a trip and

seeing other parts of the world

is what really
brings you out of that,

because you realize
how big the world is.

And you're just
this little thing.

[Mariana van Zeller]
"This little thing,"

in Rodney's case,
it meant realizing

that he's an unwitting drug mule

in a global,
multibillion dollar business.

The happy ending Rodney
imagined was a windfall

to help his family.

For his scammers, the real
windfall was selling drugs

to high paying
customers in Europe.

[camera shutters]

But at its heart,

this wasn't really a story about
drug smuggling or scamming.

It's a human
trafficking story.

The product is the person.

[camera shutter]

[Nicole Baldus] Dad, I'm not
going to argue with you on this.

You will go to therapy
when you come home.

[Mariana van Zeller] Home.

Rodney's fellow inmate,
William Rubino,

was sent there early on
compassionate release.

I think Nicole knows that
if the U.S. Government

doesn't intercede
on her father's behalf,

he may not be so lucky.

There was no attempt
whatsoever in Mozambique,

or from anyone, to try
to clear his name.

To try to prove it was all

part of this bigger
criminal syndicate.

Why isn't more being
done to combat that?

[Mariana van Zeller]
Organizations like Black Axe

commit crimes across borders.

Precisely because it
turns these cases into a

multijurisdictional mess,

one that requires
international cooperation

to catch and convict
the perpetrators.

[Nicole Baldus] When you see
that nothing can be done,

it's just, it's heartbreaking
and it's almost infuriating.

But it's going
to get out there.

And hopefully, eventually,
they're going to see that

they got the wrong person.

[♪ dramatic music]

Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.