Aussie woman Yasmin Van Tongeren faces jail over $4m ice haul in suitcase

A 25-year-old caught trying to smuggle 21 kilograms of ice back to Australia could be hit with a lengthy prison sentence in the US after pleading guilty.

Meth in bags found in an Australian woman's suitcase at San Francisco International Airport. SUPPLIED

An Australian woman busted trying to smuggle $4 million of methamphetamine from California to Queensland in her suitcase could serve up to 16 years in an American prison after pleading guilty to the failed smuggling plot.

Brisbane woman Yasmin Van Tongeren, 25, claimed she was offered $15,000 to move 21kg of ice back to Australia after visiting Los Angeles in February.

She allegedly attempted to mask the scent of the drugs from sniffer dogs by filling the bag with coffee-soaked clothes but the stash was uncovered in what authorities said was a random bag search as she tried to depart the country via the San Francisco International Airport.

Ms Van Tongeren pleaded not guilty when she first faced court after her arrest.

The woman was trying to depart the US from San Francisco International airport.

But she has now pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for sale and a charge enhancement admitting the amount was in excess of 20kgs.

A California judge has agreed the Australian woman will not be sentenced to a term of imprisonment higher than 16 years and four months in exchange for the plea.

“As cases go for us, this one’s pretty big,” San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Ms Van Tongeren said she was to be paid $15,000 for moving the shipment once she arrived back in Australia, a pittance of the haul’s $3.8 million street value.

“It’s a phenomenal gamble, and whatever the profit motive is for them in doing it, it’s not worth giving up potentially as much as 10 to 15 years of your life,” Mr Wagstaffe said of would-be drug couriers.

“I think that’s the bottom line message, because you do see young people here doing that.

“She’s 25 years old and she’s looking at this (sentence) now and it’s going to be a tag that follows her forever.”

The woman is being held at the Maple Street Correctional Centre in California.

Mr Wagstaffe said the woman was fortunate the federal authorities did not choose to prosecute the case because the penalty range would have been far higher than with state prosecutors.

Ms Van Tongeren has not given up the identity of the “friend” whom she alleged asked her to take the drug-filled suitcase.

When she was first arrested, she claimed to have no knowledge of what was in the bag but later conceded she was aware of the contents.

She is being held at the Maple Street Correctional Centre about an hour from San Francisco and is due to face court for sentencing next month.

Originally published as Aussie woman Yasmin Van Tongeren faces jail over $4m ice haul in suitcase