Sydney cruise ship cocaine haul: Accused glam drug trafficker documented luxury trip before arrest

POSING in bikinis, riding quad bikes and getting inked in Tahiti — the holiday snaps posted on Instagram by Canadians Melina Roberge and Isabelle Lagace were nothing out of the ordinary.But the contents allegedly found inside their luggage when the cruise ship Sea Princess docked in Sydney on Sunday was.

• Three accused of trying to smuggle 95kg of cocaine into Sydney

POSING in bikinis, riding quad bikes and getting inked in Tahiti — the holiday snaps posted on Instagram by Canadians Melina Roberge and Isabelle Lagace were nothing out of the ordinary.

But the contents allegedly found inside their luggage when the cruise ship Sea Princess docked in Sydney on Sunday was.

Melina Roberge.

Isabelle Lagace.

Federal police allege Roberge, 22, Lagace, 28, and fellow Canadian Andre Tamine, 63, smuggled 95kg of cocaine into Australia aboard the luxury liner, which had travelled to various South American ports en route to Sydney.

Ms Roberge’s Instagram account documented the luxurious route the trio took to get to Australia. Picture: Instagram

From New York to Peru, Ms Roberge lived the high life on the luxury cruise.

With an estimated street value of $30m, the seizure is believed to be the biggest in Australian history from a cruise ship or plane, and could see the trio handed life sentences if convicted.

If you did not know how the trip ended for Roberge, a Quebec jewellery store worker, you could be forgiven for being a little envious trawling through her Instagram account.

From the hustle and bustle of Times Square in New York to the pristine beaches of Bermuda, Ecuador and Tahiti, the photos look like they have been ripped from the pages of a travel brochure.

When posting a picture of herself getting a tattoo in Tahiti, Ms Roberge used the hashtag #dumbanddumber.

Ms Roberge was arrested after the drugs were found in the trio’s bags.

Dressed in a black bikini while posing in a beachside cave, Roberge’s accompanying caption read: “Gone to a place very peaceful, leave a message after the tone.”

When the Sea Princess stopped in Tahiti, Roberge and Lagace took a selfie with the island in the background. “First time in Papeete and not the last one,” Roberge wrote.

Police put on display the suitcase which contained an estimated $30m worth of cocaine. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The luggage and drugs is displayed by Australian authorities.

Tickets for the round-the-world cruise do not come cheap and the images documented on her Instagram and Facebook accounts show she made the most of it — from ATV rides along the Peru coastline to bird parks in Colombia.

There are no photos in Sydney however. Soon after the ship docked in the Harbour on Sunday, police and Border Force officers boarded the vessel and allegedly discovered the drugs. The trio remain in custody and will reappear in court in October.

Mélina Roberge and Isabelle Lagace are accused of trying to import 95kg of cocaine into Australia with a fellow Canadian, Andre Tamine, 63.