Cassie Sainsbury: Bogota hotel manager describes man whom accused drug mule says tricked her into smuggling cocaine
THE manager of the Bogota hotel where accused Australian drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury stayed has described her one and only visitor.
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THE manager of the Bogota hotel where accused drug mule Cassie Sainsbury stayed has described her sole visitor — the well-dressed young man who the Australian girl claims tricked her into trying to smuggle almost 6kg of cocaine out of Colombia.
Manager Ingrid Hernandez’s comments came as the 22-year-old Adelaide woman’s fiance Scott Broadbridge denied media reports yesterday that his wife-to-be was thousands in debt after the failure of her gym Yorke’s Fitness when she took off on her trip.
New light was shed on how Sainsbury spent her nine days in Bogota, with Ms Hernandez saying she stood out at her hotel 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.”
Ms Hernandez said Sainsbury’s only visitor was a well-dressed Colombian man, understood to be the mysterious Angelo, who is accused of tricking Sainsbury into packing the 5.8kg of drugs into her suitcase in the mistaken belief that the packages contained headphones.
“Normal height, normal build. He could have been in his late 20s, 30s. He had short brown gelled hair,” she said.
Sainsbury, who was arrested at Bogota’s airport on April 12, has told her lawyers and family she doesn’t know the surname of Angelo, a local she met after arriving in Bogota on April 3.
Mr Broadbridge yesterday denied she owed money before leaving Australia. However, Nicholas Paphitis, her failed gym’s landlord, said at one stage Sainsbury owed $3300 in rental arrears before she and her mother paid it back.
‘WHY WOULD ANYONE GO TO COLOMBIA?’
LAWYER URGES SAINSBURY TO PLEAD GUILTY
YESTERDAY, CCTV emerged showing Australian woman Cassandra Sainsbury, who is being held in a Colombian jail, checking out of a Bogota hotel shortly before being arrested.
The footage was captured as the accused drug mule left the $40 a night downtown hotel in which she had been staying since her arrival April 3.
Hotel manager Ingrid Hernandez said she remembered the Australian well from her stay there three weeks ago, because she was so young and arrived at the front desk without a booking.
“When she arrived I was in my office but the front desk asked for my help because Cassie did not speak any Spanish and our receptionist did not speak English,” Ms Hernandez said.
“It is unusual for tourists to arrive without a booking, particularly if they are a young woman alone like she was.”
Ms Lopez also revealed narcotics police have not approached her or anyone at the hotel to ask for evidence.
She also said Ms Sainsbury had checked out on April 12, not April 11, as her family and police have stated.
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