Durban – Marie Swanepoel, who played a key role in the conviction of drug trafficker Sheryl Cwele, the then wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, has died at the age of 61.

The Sunday Times reported that Swanepoel, the mother of convicted drug-mule Tessa Beetge, fell ill on 3 October with a perforated stomach and was taken to Queenstown Hospital. She was put on life support but went into organ failure. She was transferred to Frere Hospital in East London but died on Thursday night.

Swanepoel’s sister Margie Olsen, said the family was devastated by her death. She said her sister had been a very strong and courageous woman who had not been afraid to take down a minister’s wife.

Beetge was arrested at Sao Paulo International Airport in 2008 after being caught carrying nearly 10kg of cocaine. At the time, Swanepoel approached the Sunday Times with damning evidence including cellphone messages and emails between her daughter and Cwele, who set Beetge up for the drug mission. Cwele and her co-accused, Frank Nabolisa, were convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in May 2011.