Mystery man ‘irrelevant’ to Cassie Sainsbury’s legal case, prosecutor says

THE man who allegedly gave Cassie Sainsbury the cocaine is “irrelevant” to her case, according to a prosecution source.

IT’S the strange explanation for Cassie Sainsbury’s predicament, which she has stuck to ever since she was arrested at Bogota’s international airport.

The South Australian says she was befriended in the Colombian capital by a man she knew only as Angelo or Tom.

He visited her at the hotel she was staying in in the city’s tourist hub and gave her an offer too good to refuse: a set of headphones at bargain prices, she says.

But inside those 18 headphone cases carried in her suitcase, airport police found 5.8 kilograms of cocaine.

Ms Sainsbury says Angelo set her up and that she had no idea the cases contained illicit drugs.

While Ms Sainsbury and her family and fiance have strenuously denied she is a drug mule, her “mystery man” defence is unlikely to save her from a lengthy jail sentence, a source for the prosecution has told news.com.au.

Cassie Sainsbury’s mugshot. Picture: 7 News

The source, who works for the Colombian Fiscalia, or Attorney-General, said the prosecution was focused on proving the case against Ms Sainsbury and that finding the man who gave her the drugs was secondary.

“If they catch you with drugs, you have to accept the punishment for these drugs,” the source, who declined to be named, told news.com.au via an interpreter.

“Where [the drugs] came from, at this moment, is of no interest to us.

“It doesn’t have any relevance.

“In this moment, what is important is to determine the situation with the girl who was captured in the airport with cocaine.

“The justice system in Colombia has rules to resolve the situation of the person who is captured.

“And they can’t leave someone waiting while they look for the person who supposedly tricked them.

“We have to resolve her case quickly.”

Accused Australian drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury inside her Colombian jail cell. Picture: 9 News

The source confirmed that the Fiscalia was also looking for the mystery man, but that investigation was separate to Ms Sainsbury’s case.

“We are also investigating who the other person is, of course, because this person is also participating in a process that is breaking the law.

“(But) the Fiscalia has to resolve her case first and continue with the other investigation to find the other person.”

Police have seized CCTV from the Hotel Inter Bogota, where Ms Sainsbury stayed for eight days before her arrest, that contains footage of the mystery man.

Hotel manager Ingrid Hernandez inside the Bogota hotel where Cassie Sainsbury stayed. Picture: Joe Parkin Daniels

General manager Ingrid Paola Hernandez Sierra told news.com.au that she saw a man of African appearance visit her hotel on two occasions.

“I remember he was in reception and he asked for [Ms Sainsbury], but he didn’t sleep in the hotel,” she told news.com.au.

The source for the prosecution said any video seized would remain private until the case went before the court.

“The authorities can’t show video of a suspect while they don’t have him captured because, if he sees it, he can escape,” he said.

Cassandra Sainsbury's sister Khala Sainsbury enters El Buen Pastor women’s prison for a visit on Monday. Picture: James Law/news.com.au

If Ms Sainsbury continues to reject the charges, she will enter a long and complex legal process that could see her stay behind bars in Bogota’s El Buen Pastor women’s prison for as long as 12 months before a final verdict.

Her case is currently in the “imputada” phase, which means she has not been formally accused.

The prosecution has 90 days from her arrest on April 11 to prepare a formal document outlining its case against her.

If she continues to plead her innocence, the case will proceed through an accusation hearing, a pre-trial hearing and then a formal trial.

“She didn’t accept the charges because she says she was tricked,” the source told news.com.au.

“Because she didn’t accept the charges, the process will be longer.

“It can short or it can be long depending on how the trial goes.

“A case like this could last one year, approximately.”

Cassie Sainsbury's fiance, Scott Broadbridge, walks towards El Buen Pastor women's prison, shadowed by a crew from Channel 7's Sunday Night. Picture: James Law/news.com.au

If she pleads guilty, as her Colombian lawyer Orlando Herran has encouraged her to do, the case proceeds straight to sentencing and she will likely receive a more lenient sentence.

If she rejects the charges but is found guilty, she could face 15 to 20 years in jail. She will serve five to 10 years if she accepts the charges.

The source said the prosecution would look into Ms Sainsbury’s background and employment history in Australia, and seek to find out why she was in Colombia in the first place.

It may also reach out to Australian authorities to help with its case.