All language subtitles for Episode 10 Ecuador - Master of Deception - Betrayed in Ecuador

I thought I was going away for a week to
help somebody.

I'll come back and live my life again
the way I had been living it.

I just feel I can't say no to people.

I never, ever imagined that that would
be the last night of freedom in my whole

life. Where are you taking me?

Just an unbelievable feeling I've never
felt before.

I really knew.

I'm not going home tomorrow, I'm in deep
trouble I

met

Olu in London through a friend of mine.

He came from Nigeria.

I really felt for him.

We got married in the year 2000.

I was really happy.

I always felt secure about myself.

I always felt really blessed because I
had everything I think anybody would

really want in their life.

And I had a husband who was amazing.

He was always encouraging me, always...

making sure I got everything I needed.
He was always by my side.

And then he took me to Nigeria and I was
like, wow, this is a dream come true.

I cried when I got there because it's so
amazing.

And something about it I love.

I love the culture, I love the language,
the scene, the dance. It was just so

much fun in Nigeria.

But then we met a guy called Tony.

Working in a market in a stall.

Where are you from?

He was just a very friendly person and
very helpful.

And bubbly.

Always be happy.

He'd always be cheerful.

You know, he practically became family
to us.

It was just amazing how close we all
grew together in that short time.

He was somebody really special to us.

I trusted him with my life.

I only had a visa for three months.

So we left Nigeria to come back to
London.

Tony had a wife in London waiting for
him, along with his two children.

And he had to make it there to be the
father that he always wanted to be.

We did an invitation visa for him on our
names.

And he came to London.

He came to London and stayed with us.

Everybody was so pleased to see him. It
was really a happy time.

His children I love very, very much.

They were always with Tony.

So they were practically always in our
house.

And they were great. They were like my
own.

But then...

Tony starts to change.

His character changed.

His way of dressing changed.

He had no money, he had no job.

He'd start going out a lot, buying all
flashy clothes and shoes.

You wouldn't see him for three or four
days.

And his wife would be calling wondering
where he is.

Yo, man.

Hey, big man.

He started mixing with the wrong people
and started doing things he wasn't

supposed to be doing.

I kept thinking he was into fraud
because of the type of people he was

Eventually we had to speak to him about
it.

Tony, Tony, look at me. Look at me now.

We'd had many arguments with Tony, my
husband and I.

This is how you treat me? I would ask
him, Tony, is everything okay? What's

going on, you know? Why aren't you
spending time with your children

And he would just get, oh, I'm sorry.

I'm trying to get a home. I'm trying to
build my life for my wife and me to be

together.

You know, it was always story after
story after story.

I was very naive about Tony.

Very, very naive.

Olu asked him to leave the house at
times he wouldn't leave. When we asked

we'd give him more chances and more
chances.

And he just never would listen at that
time. But then one day he just packed up

and left.

I felt sad because...

The disappointment that he'd given us,
that really hurt me a lot.

I honestly thought we would see him
either just gone and come back a few

later or a few days and days pass, weeks
pass, months pass.

Hello? And all of a sudden we got a
phone call from Tony.

Tony, where are you?

He told us how he's in South America,
living in Ecuador.

He was complaining.

I have no money.

He had nowhere to live.

He kept speaking about his children,
that they were the only things he wanted

this world.

He made us feel that he really wanted to
get his family and his life back

together. I know I don't deserve this.
Can you send money so I can get a visa?

He wanted to come back to London. He was
like, always, always, always begging

of, please help me, I need to get back.

And I did.

I sent all my documents, photocopies
of...

passports, birth certificates, mortgage
certificates, references.

Tony had received everything, and he
went to the embassy with it. They didn't

want copies. They wanted the originals.

And to send all my original documents
over to Tony, I don't think I could have

done that, because maybe I wouldn't see
them again.

So it came to a point where they asked
me, would I be the one to go out to

Ecuador?

and help Tony come home.

He's trying to take advantage of you.
He's not taking advantage of me.

My husband and I, we actually argued
over it.

Ola would just say, you know what, Zoe,
do what you want.

Do what you want. If you want to waste
your money, I'm going to waste your

money. You can't trust this guy.

I just feel I can't say no to people.

You know, I just can't do it.

It's just not in me.

So that was the decision.

I will go.

I will do it.

At first I didn't realize it, but I
think Tony was playing games with me,

with my emotions and the type of heart
that I had.

I left for Ecuador on the 14th of
February 2003.

I'm sure you have your passport.

Yeah, I've got it. I've got everything.

And that was today.

It's supposed to be a love day, isn't
it? It wasn't so much love.

Leaving for the trip, I had to bring a
lot of documents with me. I have 62 bits

of paper.

Call me if you don't get that.

Olu gave me a Valentine's Day present.

Gave me a white teddy bear.

I love it.

I never imagined that that teddy bear
would be my comfort and something I held

on to so tight when I was in pain.

It was unbelievable.

That's why I was gone away for a week,
to help somebody come back home to their

children.

I'll come back and live my life again
the way I have been living it.

If I had any wish in the whole wide
world, I think my only wish would be

I could rewind time, that I never got
onto the airplane at London airport to

to Ecuador.

It was like the worst mistake of my
whole life.

When I landed at Quito Airport, I was
excited.

I knew I was in a different country. It
just felt totally strange, and everybody

around me had long black hair and dark
skin.

You know, it was really different.

I felt, wow, you know, I want to see
Tony again.

I'm going to do something for him. He's
going to probably come home with me.

There was no sign of Tony at the
airport.

I was disappointed in him. I was let
down.

I started thinking, you know what?

Was this worth it? Is Tony serious?

He should have been there for me.

I flew all this way just for him.

I ended up making calls back home.

Hi, I'm here.

My husband rang Tony to ask him, you
know, where are you?

Okay, um, rice.

Anyway, he gave me directions to go to a
hotel.

I just wanted to get this sorted out. I
wanted to see Tony, you know.

That was what I came for.

I called Tony two or three times.

He said he'd be there late that night.

He was telling me, just relax, he's on
his way, he's on his way.

And I was getting late and I was kind of
looking out the window and everything

was really strange for me.

When he came, it was like, it was after
12 at night, he was dressed floppy and

draggy and not how he used to be always,
very clean, very respectful.

He shook my hand.

You know, we never shake hands.

That's not how we say hi to each other.

We usually see me and hug me and, you
know, we'd be really, oh my God, how's

everything, what's happening?

Do you want a drink?

No, no, no, that's okay.

He couldn't even look at me.

He wasn't relaxed, he wasn't settled.

He was on edge.

It's great to be here.

He didn't even ask me how people were.

There was none of that.

You know, it was just a really cold,
cold relationship between us that time.

The following day, Tony suggested that
we should go to this big tourist market

that is, like, really well -known in
Quito.

I was a bit upset of going to the market
because I didn't come to go to a

market. I came here to get things sorted
out for you.

And he said, oh, the embassy is not
open. It's only open certain days a

Then it was only open certain hours.

He said, no, don't worry. Things will be
fine.

When I got there, I found out Tony had a
girlfriend.

And it was like a big shock to me.

Tony was planning on coming home to his
wife.

Tony was planning on getting his life
back together.

So where did this girlfriend thing come
in? It was like, what is going on?

She wasn't somebody I expected him to be
with.

She was, like, dressed all, like, real
cheap -looking and everything.

So I didn't really respect her from the
minute I'd seen her.

We spent probably three hours in the
market.

I got presents for everybody.

I was just picking up everything, you
know, smiling.

It was actually really fun.

I bought so many things.

Statues and ornaments made from wood,
hand -carved.

We had a lot of bags.

So Tony went over to a stall where they
sell handbags, bags, suitcases,

rucksacks. Okay, you go and get a taxi,
and I'll buy it back so that I can go

shopping, okay? All right.

All right?

And we waited. We stood there waiting
where the taxis are at the end of the

market, and he came back with two
rucksacks.

And he says, you can use these to put
all your stuff in. And that was it.

We just went and got the taxi, and I
accepted. I said, okay, that's cool.

you.

We were going to go get something to
eat.

But Tony couldn't come.

So he dropped us off.

And he said, give me a few minutes. I'll
be back.

And as we were getting out, I went to
open the booth, take all the bags.

Don't worry about the shop.

I don't make any friends with carrying
the bags around.

And Tony said, no, don't worry. Leave
all your shopping there. That's okay.

I'll be ten minutes. I have to see a
friend.

Okay? I'll be to the hotel.

And that was it. Left me with his
girlfriend.

We didn't have much of a conversation.

Tony would ring her.

She'd be speaking to Tony. She'd say,
oh, Tony, and she passed the phone to me

once.

Hello?

And he said he'd be over to drop my
things over to me in the morning time.

On the fourth day, I was expecting Tony
to be over.

We were supposed to go to the embassy.

All of a sudden, his girlfriend showed
up and gave me my bag.

She left all my stuff with me. It was
actually in the rucksack by now, all my

presents.

I said, OK, thanks, but where's Tony?

His mobile number. I've been trying to
call him. I can't get through to him on

his phone. Can I have your phone number,
please, to speak to him?

And she said, no.

You start speaking Spanish.

I knew she was just talking rubbish.

You know, this girl, you can understand
her if you really want to understand

her.

That was it. She left. She left the
hotel and left me there.

Imagine, I'm in a foreign country.

I can't even get through to the person I
came to see.

The whole thing was just gone.

It's horrible.

I just didn't understand his whole life.
Everything about him was a lie.

Everything.

I didn't want to ever see Tony again in
my life. That was it.

The last night I spent in Quito, I
wasn't happy at all. I actually cried a

And I just wanted to get the hell out of
Ecuador and go home.

I never ever imagined that that would be
the last night of freedom in my whole

life.

Thanks for helping me.

Next morning I got ready and headed off
to the airport as normal as can be.

And I felt a bit sad and depressed
because just looking at all of Quito,

lovely place, I didn't get to see
anything.

And we passed the embassies.

It's like right behind the hotel where I
was staying. It was like unbelievable.

And I was looking and I was just, I felt
so disappointed.

I got to the airport and expected my
flight in two hours after the time I got

there.

Everything was fine, no problem.

Before I actually checked in, we were in
a queue.

And there was a man in an undercover
car, I think.

He said, how long have I been in Quito?

I showed him my passport.

Okay.

Why did you come to Quito?

Just visiting a friend.

And he asked me, where are you traveling
to? I told him London.

Back to London?

He said, okay, no problem. Have a safe
journey.

Have a nice flight.

Thanks.

I checked in my bag, my suitcase, and I
checked in the rucksack that

I had been given with my souvenirs in it
from Tony.

I've got two to go in and I've got one
hand up.

Everything was fine and they told me to
go upstairs.

I got a drink and a sandwich.

I just wanted to be home.

not looking forward to the 11 -hour
flight that was ahead of me.

I was sitting there, I finished my
orange juice, my sandwich, everything,

looking around, just listening to the
different language and just curious of

everything.

There was a girl there, one blonde girl,
and she kept talking to me.

You know, and asking me questions like,
where are you going? Have you got

someone to collect you at the airport?

My husband, he'll be there. Oh, your
husband.

Which is something I found really
strange. Later on, I thought about it.

Eventually, they called our flight
number, so we all had to go and board

flight.

I walked onto the plane, I showed my
seat number and the ticket.

I was on like the fourth or the fifth
row.

And I went to sit down.

And all of a sudden from the back, all
these policemen ran in and

they were shouting this name.

My name, I knew it was my name.

You know, I put up my hand. I said, here
I am.

And they all came and they grabbed me.
And they said, where's your

hand luggage? And I showed them where my
hand luggage was.

They took it down.

They asked me, like in the small English
that they could speak, if they could

search my bag. And I said, no problem.

What's the matter? What's wrong? I kept
saying to him.

And he wouldn't answer me.

They were very intimidating.

Like the way they were all looking at me
and pulling at me. One pulled me one

way, the other one pulled me the other
way.

When the police took me off, I was
feeling nervous. I could feel my

getting worse.

I go starting to take deep, deep
breaths.

They asked me to come down to where they
load the baggage onto the airplane.

What's the problem?

Where are we going?

Where are you taking me?

I was thinking, oh my God, why are these
dogs all over me?

Smelling me, barking at my bag like
crazy.

I kept saying, your bag, your bag, your
bag. I said, yeah, that's my bag.

They asked me if they could search and I
said, no problem.

I knew what they were looking for.

It's automatically, I just knew.

They're taking out of the bag. Yeah,
this is my bag, yes.

And if they're taking everything out of
the bag and unloading them and

everything, like police everywhere.

It was crazy atmosphere.

It was unbelievable.

And I kept telling them, my flight's
leaving, my flight's leaving. But it's

nobody understood me. They were all just
looking, no, no, no, no. They all kept

saying to me.

They searched the bag.

And they found nothing. There was
nothing in the bag.

And they had a knife.

And they started poking knives all over
my bag.

And they stuck it right into the end of
the bag.

When they pulled it out, there was just
white powder all over the knife.

Just an unbelievable feeling that I've
never felt in my life before.

It just all fell into place, didn't it?

Tony, that's all I could see was Tony.

I think went, and I just fell.

I collapsed.

That was the last thing I remember.

When I woke up, I was in this room just
lying on a metal bed. It was all police

there.

I just looked up at everybody.

I just started crying. There was nothing
else I could do. Please, can someone

listen to me?

When they found the drugs, they were in
the base of my bag, the bottom.

The smell that I was smelling all the
time in the hotel and what Tony was

talking about was the glue.

The lining of the bag was full of drugs.

Two squares.

They were separated.

Took one out.

And then they took another one out.

The drugs, they're not mine.

Please. Can somebody just speak English
to me, please?

And I used to see all the aeroplanes.

I remember... I remember looking at the
airplanes

all the time, just wishing to be on
them.

And then the policeman came and took me
out and took me to a question room.

And they were just all asking me to sign
a paper.

I wouldn't sign it because I didn't
understand what nobody was saying and it

wasn't Spanish.

¿Cuánto tiempo más tengo que esperar?

¡Ah!

¡Ay, firma!

¡No, I'm not signing it! ¡Firma! ¡Que
firmes!

¡Firma tu declaración!

¡No entiendes que tienes que firmar!

¡Ah!

A ver.

Late to do one guy that spoke English.

He spoke enough to explain to me what
was going on.

The paper was a confession to admitting
that I've been trafficking the drugs.

You need to sign this now.

He told me I have to sign that paper. If
I don't sign that paper, I'm just going

to get a longer time in prison.

I'm not going to prison.

I'm not going to prison.

You will.

It must talk about...

20 hours, 22 hours, before I actually
agreed to sign the paper.

They put me in a room where they saw
men.

And it was horrible.

I always remember and think of
everything that Olu used to say, and I'd

about it because I'd say, if I only
listened, if I only thought about what

said, I wouldn't be where I am right
now.

My husband meant so much to me. I loved
him so much. He was everything to me.

There was nobody in the world like him.

And I kept thinking maybe I would lose
him.

What's he going to do without me?

Is he going to be okay?

You know, those thoughts kept going
through my head.

I had to stay there for nights upon
nights, and nobody came to see me. I had

one to speak to. They wouldn't let me
make a phone call.

I kept saying, Irish Embassy.

And they said, no, no embassy, no
embassy.

Eventually I got a phone call.

I paid a doctor.

to use his mobile phone.

And I rang my husband.

Zoe, where are you?

And he just started crying.

We thought you were dead and everyone
was thinking what happened.

I'm sorry, I've not been able to call.
They've not given me a phone call.

And I only got a few minutes. I couldn't
talk. I said, contact the embassy, do

something quick.

It's a horrible, horrible experience for
both of us.

It took about two weeks and a half for
somebody to come and see me.

And that was my conflict.

My husband eventually got in touch with
them and let them know what was going

on.

And I jumped up. I was like, wow.

And I walked out. He was there.

I just hoped him so much.

I couldn't let him go, you know.

And I said, please take me home. You
know, I just kept asking him to take me

home all the time.

Because I've signed the document, which
I never should have signed.

I told him why I've signed the document,
because of what the policeman said to

me. And I was just scared.

I don't know. So I had two charges up
against me.

Possession and trafficking.

He explained how he's seen people in
these situations before.

Everybody believes they're going to go
free, but it doesn't happen like that.

And when he left that day, I really knew
I'm in trouble.

I'm not going home tomorrow. I'm in deep
trouble.

Panic you feel inside, the stress, the
pain, like anger.

You know, each day waiting just for
something to happen.

I needed a shower and I asked them,
please, I need to take a proper shower.

there any other shower I can use?

And they said, yeah, you can use the
police shower.

It was cold water, which I was horrible.
I wasn't in China, but at the same time

I was.

It was like the water was running down
my back.

And these two policemen came in.

And he started touching me.

And I kept screaming.

And I asked him to go away from me and
leave me alone. He wouldn't leave me

alone.

I was holding myself in a corner trying
to push them away.

I pushed him and I slapped one of them
in the face.

I screamed again. I really screamed. I
started kicking everywhere.

And I grabbed the towel and covered
myself.

And they just ran. They just walked
away. They didn't do anything to me.

They just left me alone then.

And I refused to let these people bring
me down.

I refused.

I refused.

I got a friend.

That drive to the prison was the worst
drive I've ever had in my life.

I used to miss being black gay.

And I just pictured myself behind him.

And they opened the gate. They banged on
in and let me in.

The guards were carrying my bags.

And they brought me inside.

It was terrifying.

I could hear screams.

I could hear women shouting.

So they put me into a little room.

You know, it was really horrible.

And I got inside and the guard helped me
because I wouldn't let go of my Bible

and my teddy.

Yeah,

I knew I was in prison.

I knew that this was it.

It's about to start.

My first night in prison was horrible.

I didn't even sleep.

It was freezing. I remember the girls
sending the guards down to me with

blankets for me to put over me and
pillows and socks and warm tracksuits.

They really took care of me that night.

I put my hand out and one girl took my
hand and she was my best friend there.

It's a new world, a totally different
world.

You create your own world there. The
world outside doesn't exist anymore.

Drugs was like buying a candy in the
store. You could buy it everywhere and

type you wanted. It was just there.

The guards, the police on the roof,
selling drugs.

Drug addicts there.

Trying to steal you, cutting you up.

I've been cut up three or four times
with knives for a dollar.

Everybody was convinced because I'm a
foreigner you have lots of money.

You know, they don't realize I've just
lost nearly everything I've worked for.

My lawyer brought me a telephone, a cell
phone.

So my husband had a phone number to
contact me on.

Hello Zoe, how are you today?

Oliver, he would bring me crying like a
baby every single day, you know. He was

trying to make me strong, but he was
really not strong either.

I can't take this. And his mother died
the same month that I was arrested, so

he'd lost two people. And then his
father died five months later.

So he lost everybody.

I used to tell him that, don't worry,
I'm home. The lawyer told me today that

everything's OK.

Don't worry, I'll be home. Probably my
court case will be next week. I'm going

to see you again really, really soon.

He was somebody that gave me hope of
coming home.

And I knew I had something to come home
to.

The waiting for my sentence was really
hard.

Then one day, one of the girls helped me
make a call to...

My translator.

And we rang him.

And I knew it was bad news the minute
she just looked at me.

What did they say?

What is that?

And she came off the payphone and she
said to me,

you've been sentenced.

She said, eight years.

I screamed.

I just screamed. So much came out of me.
It was unbelievable.

The

day I got

sentenced, the day I heard about my
sentence, destroyed me.

It took away everything I had. My
friends, my smile, my heart.

My faith, my soul, everything just
ripped me apart.

I just didn't want anybody.

I just told all my friends to get out of
my room.

And I just felt nobody was there for me.
God is not even there for me. Where is

my God, you know?

Tony, he didn't just destroy my life. He
destroyed my whole family's life, my

relationships, my spirit, my soul,
everything.

He destroyed everything.

I wanted to speak to Olu so badly.

And I rang him and I told him. He just
hung up the phone.

He couldn't talk to me.

And I needed him so much.

I couldn't deal with it. I just got
depressed.

Highly, highly, highly depressed.

It was like two months, three months
actually later.

Olu was ringing me and telling me, I'm
coming, you know, I'm coming to see you.

What would you do if I came to see you?

I thought he was just joking.

I just ignored it.

Then one night morning I got a phone
call. It was visiting day.

And at 8 o 'clock in the morning my cell
phone was vibrating. I picked it up

with an Ecuadorian number.

And it was him.

He was in Ecuador, you know.

I was like, oh, my God, what?

All right, I can't see you two.

Bye. I couldn't believe that. I was
shocked.

He said, I'll be there in 20 minutes in
a taxi.

Then I got all excited and I was telling
my friends, oh, my God, Olu's here. Oh,

my God, he's here, he's here.

And it was true, the gate's open for a
visit now, and he walks straight

He just walks straight through the gate.

I

ran,

ran all the way down to him.

And we just followed in each other, it
was so lovely.

It was a really lovely feeling to have
him next to me.

He kept saying how strong I am, how
amazing I am.

He felt like this was somebody who
really loved me.

When Olu came, I just got really
desperate. I wanted to leave with him.

I wanted to be home with him. I wanted
to be beside him.

He was everything to me and all I really
had left.

And we met a new lawyer.

And he said, the only way to get her out
now is escape.

The only way.

And we said, how? He said, through the
hospital. We can get her out from the

hospital.

I thought about it so much.

It was a decision we had to make that
was very hard for both of us.

We said no about it, just yes, no, yes,
no, constantly, every hour of the day to

decide, should we do it? Do you think
this will help? Is this the right way to

go about things?

And we decided, yeah, let's do it.

The exact plan to escape was get out of
the prison to a hospital.

The doctor would do that.

He'd sign me out of the prison
pretending I was sick.

The liar had planned to take me from the
hospital.

He would get me a false passport.

Run to the hospital, drive to Colombia,
get a flight from Colombia to Amsterdam,

and then Amsterdam, London.

And I'd be home.

I got to the hospital.

I had to be in the hospital four days.

And yeah, it was time to do it.

I just couldn't do it.

I couldn't get out of bed.

Everything was ready. I was too scared.

I just hadn't got the courage.

I only stayed next door two weeks.

I remember the day he was leaving. It
was a Sunday.

I just didn't want to let him go.

I had a choice.

You know, I had a choice to go to make
my life, to work on this and build

better, or I had a choice to fall down.

But it was like an inner strength came
upon me, and I just started growing

again.

I started writing, just writing. I just
kept writing all my thoughts down, all

my feelings.

That's how I expressed myself. That's
how I got all my pain out.

There was a new president.

The new president of Ecuador, Korea was
his name. Amazing man.

He just changed the laws for everyone.

It was amazing how it happened. Nobody
could believe it.

Nobody. It was just so quick, so fast,
so sudden.

I rang Olu and he was over the moon. He
just couldn't believe it either. He

says, yeah, yeah, okay.

He was really, really happy.

And they let me out Monday morning.

I was scared and I got dizzy.

And I got headaches from the traffic,
just looking at so many, just everything

was different, you know.

I took out my shoes and I just lay on
the grass.

I just wanted to feel the touch of air,
you know, look up at the sky without

seeing bars, you know.

I'm free, you know, I can do what I
want.

I was actually nervous and scared to go
home.

I was going through crazy emotions,
crazy, crazy emotions, you wouldn't

it.

They took me to the immigration in the
airport.

I'm just sitting here now, my last day
in Ecuador.

And I'm waiting to go home.

I'm going to cry.

And I have to stay here now until my
flight leaves.

It's okay, no problem.

I'm fine.

To rebuild my life, it will take time.

It's going to take a lot of time because
I have nothing at the moment.

I've lost everything that I've ever had.

Going back to Olu, life has taken us
both in different directions.

As much as we love each other, I don't
think we can live together, you know. It

was like really hard for us to be
together.

I'm more emotional in many ways.

I can't accept things the way I used to.

I still have a lot of pain inside.

I just need to get my confidence back
and I've lost it. That prison took it

away from me.

But I know I'll make it.

I know I'll do it.