Did 60 Minutes pay Cassie Sainsbury?

ACCUSED drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury’s interview on 60 Minutes last night was met with instant controversy — but it was a ratings winner for Nine.

60 MINUTES’ much-publicised interview with accused drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury was a ratings winner for Nine, with the program drawing more than a million viewers last night — and 400,000 more than Seven’s rival current affairs program Sunday Night.

Sainsbury’s appearance on the show was met with instant controversy, viewers expressing disbelief at the holes in her story — including her insistence that she’d forgotten the passcode to a mobile phone she says contains evidence that would set her free.

Viewers also took to social media to question whether Nine had paid Sainsbury for her story.

#60mins. I hope you didn't pay for this interview with #cocainecassie she duped you lot 😂😂😂
forgotten password pfft wow

— LA-LA (@donnae324) September 24, 2017

Did 60 mins pay for that interview? Helping to aid Cassie’s legal bills 🙄 #60Mins

— Jeannie L H (@Mizzterious1) September 24, 2017

I hope you didn't pay for this interview @60Mins What a waste of time. Nothing but contradiction. Leave it to Colombia to deal with. #60Mins

— Case (@case_payne) September 24, 2017

A Nine spokesperson today told news.com.au they had not paid any money to Sainsbury, “neither directly or indirectly, nor have we made any payment to her partner Scott Broadbridge”.

The spokesperson said Nine had assisted Sainsbury’s mother, Lisa Evans, with travel costs to visit her daughter in jail in Bogota, Colombia.

“We went through all proper procedures to gain authorised access to interview Cassandra in jail, which is an extensive and laborious process. We have not paid any money to the Colombian jail for access,” said the spokesperson.

Cassie Sainsbury on 60 Minutes.

On Tuesday, prosecutors will present a brief of evidence against her but the trial won’t begin for six months.

Should she be found guilty, Sainsbury faces at least 20 years in prison — a fate she said she’s come to terms with.

She took the opportunity to apologise to Australia during last night’s interview, telling 60 Minutes reporter Liam Bartlett: “I’m apologising because I didn’t mean to cause any disrespect ... that’s from the heart.”