Police were reportedly tipped off about Cassie Sainsbury a week before arrest
COLOMBIAN police have revealed more details about the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s tip-off on Cassie Sainsbury.
COLOMBIAN police have revealed more details about the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s tip-off on Cassie Sainsbury.
It was previously reported Ms Sainsbury, 22, was arrested at a Bogota airport on April 12 after a tip-off from the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
One of the red flags raised was related to a last minute airline ticket bought for Ms Sainsbury by an unknown party in Hong Kong.
Police were on the alert from April 5, a couple of days after she arrived in Colombia on April 3 and a week before she tried to depart the country.
Jorge Mendoza, the ports and airports director for Colombia’s anti-narcotic police told Colombian journalist Carlos Colina the tip-off included Ms Sainsbury’s name, nationality and photo.
He said authorities searched through airline ticket records but could not find travel booked under Ms Sainsbury’s name and so were a bit confused about it.
But at the very last moment, they were alerted to a ticket purchased for someone of that name, which led them to intercept Ms Sainsbury at the airport.
Mr Mendoza said he didn’t want to speculate about whether Ms Sainsbury was guilty and even though the drugs were in her suitcase, he really felt sorry for the Australian.
Earlier this week, Mr Mendoza said he doubted Ms Sainsbury didn’t know about the drugs.
“Her explanation is not credible. Everyone we catch says they didn’t know it was in their luggage,” he said.
Ms Sainsbury is facing up to 20 years in jail after she was arrested at El Dorado International Airport with 5.8kg of cocaine in her luggage.
She has told her family that she thought the packages were headphones she bought as gifts from an interpreter that she trusted.
Days after retreating from the spotlight following a fundraising backlash, Ms Sainsbury’s fiance Scott Broadbridge fronted a media pack in Adelaide today, admitting there was still much he and her legal team didn’t know about Cassandra’s trip to Colombia. The 23-year-old insisted she was innocent however, and said he was not going to give up on her.
“Cassie is innocent of these charges and I will support her no matter how long this takes,” he said.
“Cass and I are engaged to be married and I intend to marry her. Cass is the delight of my life. I know that she’s not involved in the drug trade. And I know that she was not deliberately taking drugs or carrying drugs anywhere.”
He would not answer specific questions about the case.
“I know there are many unanswered questions in this case. And I intend to work with the lawyers to get to the bottom of them. At this time I just wish to concentrate on doing whatever we can to help Cass and to help her through this time.
“I hope to be able to get over there soon. And I hope that we are able to prove her innocence.”
Yesterday, CCTV footage emerged showing Ms Sainsbury checking out of a Bogota hotel shortly before being arrested.
The manager of the Bogota hotel where Ms Sainsbury stayed told News Corp that Cassie stood out because she arrived without a reservation and paid for her accommodation only two days at a time.
“She was alone most of the time in her room. I remember once she went and brought McDonalds back to eat,” manager Ingrid Hernandez said.
She said Ms Sainsbury’s only visitor was a well-dressed Colombian man, understood to be the person who tricked her into packing the drugs in her suitcase.
Ms Sainsbury has told her friends and family that the man’s name was Angelo but doesn’t know his surname.
Ms Sainsbury is behind bars in the notorious El Buen Pastor women’s prison.
The prison is hugely overcrowded and criminals there live alongside their children. Her lawyer said she was “traumatised” and hardly eating.
Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine and its police among the best-trained to detect and stop drug smuggling thanks in part to billions of dollars in US anti-narcotics aid that has strengthened law enforcement.
