SHE was on the dance floor of a club at Clarke Quay, dancing alone and enjoying the music.

A tall Nigerian man sauntered up to her, started to dance with her and said: 'Nice dancing with you.'

Fatimah (not her real name) said she was struck by his confidence and demeanour.

They started chatting and ended up at a budget hotel. He was generous with praise, and said the 26-year-old divorcee was 'so sweet' and 'so pretty'.

But the 11-month whirlwind romance that started that night ended with her turning into a drug mule and a recruiter for a syndicate.

The number of women here recruited as drug mules has risen sharply.

The man Fatimah met, Nick (not his real name), claimed that his family owned a big house in Nigeria and that his father was a clergyman.

After three months, he moved into her three-room HDB flat. She started paying for most of their meals, and even sent between $200 and $300 a month to his family in Nigeria.

One day, he introduced her to his friend, another Nigerian man, who asked if she wanted to go to China.

It was to take some shawl samples there, she was told, and she would be paid US$2,000 ($2,900) per trip.

She claimed that since she needed the money, she didn't ask further questions.

She had been jobless for three months then. A few days later, she made the trip. It was actually a drug run, although she didn't know it at the time.

She was paid the US$2,000.

The next trip came a few months later, when she was told to travel to a neighbouring country.

She was given a trolley bag there.

'The bag was almost empty but was very heavy. I thought that was strange,' she said.

From that country, she took a flight to China and later found out from another drug mule that the bag contained heroin.

She was not caught and returned to Singapore.

Said Fatimah: 'I was shocked that I was carrying heroin around. I was also disappointed that I was lied to and made use of. I was also scared.'

She was paid US$2,000 again and said half of what she got for each drug run had gone to Nick.

Broke off

She broke off with him after that.

But Nick was persistent. He followed her and wanted to get back together. Eventually, they did.

The Nigerian recruiter asked her again if she wanted to do another drug run. Fatimah refused but recommended a childhood friend instead.

'I didn't tell her the truth but I think she suspected what was going on. She did it because she needed the money,' she said.

Fatimah said she was paid US$200 as commission.

Her friend is now being investigated. Her friend also recommended her 18-year-old niece to carry drugs to China.

But the teenager was arrested in Shenzhen with her drug haul and is now facing a possible death sentence.

At that time, Fatimah was also in China on a drug run because she needed the money.

The Nigerian men Fatimah met there didn't know about the girl's arrest and thought that the she had disappeared.

Said Fatimah: 'I was held by them (the Nigerians in China) for a few weeks because they thought we were all in this together.

'I called my boyfriend and I was crying and I said I wanted to return home. He told me to be patient and wait. Then, I realised he never loved me.'

Fatimah was subsequently released by the Nigerians and returned to Singapore. She couldn't find her boyfriend here as he had been arrested a few days earlier for drug offences. His case is still pending.

Fatimah was also caught later and has been detained under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act, which provides for detention without trial.

She is under investigation for drug courier recruitment and drug trafficking.

Lured by good pay and free travel

The number of women mules arrested in Singapore has doubled from five in 2008 to 10 so far this year.

In 2001, there was only one such case.

These mules are recruited into the syndicates through promises of good pay and free travel.

Dr Thomas Pietschmann, a researcher with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, told The New Paper that he has seen an increase in women being used as drug mules in the last 10 years.

He said that some Singaporean women may be targeted as drug mules because the drug laws here are tough, and customs officers in other countries may think it's less likely that Singaporeans will traffic drugs.

The Central Narcotics Bureau has asked those who are unsure if they are being made use of to contact the bureau on 1800-3256666.

Number of women arrested

2003: 1

2004: 0

2005: 2

2006: 1

2007: 4

2008: 5

This year: 10 so far

This article was first published in The New Paper