{
  "id": 17752954,
  "title": "New book to tell story of Chatsworth’s ‘Mandrax Muniamma’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/new-book-to-tell-story-of-chatsworths-mandrax-muniamma",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T05:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/thepost/news/2026-11-02-new-book-to-tell-story-of-chatsworths-mandrax-muniamma/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new book is set to reveal the story of Savy Govender, a Chatsworth drug dealer known as 'Mandrax Muniamma', who gained notoriety for smuggling mandrax from India into South Africa in the late 1960s. Govender, who allegedly escaped prison twice, is featured in Deepak Panday's book Kings of Durban Part 2: How The Town Was Won. The sequel to Panday's previous work, Kings of Durban Part 1, is scheduled for a February launch. Panday, who began writing the series to shed light on the underworld of Durban, including drug dealing and gang activity among Indians, had to delay the sequel for safety reasons. The book, which includes Govender's story with her daughter's permission, was prompted by his research into her drug business operations. Govender, given the name Mandrax Muniamma after using it on a fake passport, roped in her husband and family as drug mules. She would fly to South Africa using different identification each time and smuggle drugs in suitcases concealed with saris. Over the course of about ten years, she brought drugs into the country this way. Despite being married, with children and grandchildren, Govender was one of the most successful and elusive women in crime. Her story will touch upon her imprisonment in Bombay and her daring escape from Westville Prison, considered the most shocking escape in that era. The book will also touch on her family's perception of her actions, with some children having changed their names to distance themselves following her conviction in the 1980s. Panday's research paints Govender as a loving mother who cared for her family and community, and her bravery in maintaining her code of ethics without resorting to violence to expand her business.",
  "summary": "The story of how Savy Govender, a Chatsworth drug dealer dubbed ‘Mandrax Muniamma, rose to notoriety for transporting mandrax from India into South Africa in the late 1960s, will be published in a new book.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}