Australian Cassie Sainsbury arrested after Colombia police tip-off
The Australian woman arrested over drug charges was picked up after a tip-off, Colombian drug police claim.
Accused drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury was arrested following a tip-off from international drug agencies, Colombian drug police claim.
EXCLUSIVE: Aussie’s ticket tipped off drug cops
The head of anti narco trafficking control, Colonel Rodrigo Soler, told The Australian Ms Sainsbury’s travel plans had raised suspicions.
Ms Sainsbury was arrested after more than 5kg of cocaine, concealed in boxes of headphones inside her suitcases, was allegedly found in her luggage as she tried to fly home from El Dorado International Airport in Bogota on April 12.
The Adelaide 22-year old claims she was duped into carrying the drugs after buying bulk headphones for her upcoming wedding
Colonel Soler said Ms Sainsbury’s was a familiar story.
“Why are you interested in just one Australian?” he said.
“We have people from Mexico, Spain, all different places, all ages using all different methods,” he said.
The amount of drugs involved means Ms Sainsbury did not qualify for bail or house arrest, Colonel Soler said.
She remains locked up in Bogota’s notorious El Buen Pastor women’s prison which is located near a military school and up-market residential neighbourhood in central Bogota..
Colombia police have released photographs of Ms Sainsbury posing behind the wrapped packets of drugs allegedly found on her luggage.
‘She could have been a drug mule’
Ms Sainsbury could have been working as a drug mule, says Jorge Mendoza, the ports and airports director for Colombia’s anti-narcotic police.
“She could possibly be a drug mule,” he told ABC radio through an interpreter.
“In going through security we found she had 18 packets inside her luggage which even before opening it we found covered in plastic.”
Mr Mendoza also said Ms Sainsbury could face up to 20 years in jail.
“Depending on the qualities (of the cocaine) we believe the maximum could be 20 years,” he said.
“The punishment for the quantity could be between eight to 12 years.” - With AAP
Cartel revenge fear for Aussie
Ms Sainsbury may be at risk of retaliation from drug cartels, lawyers say, writes Michael Owen.
Last night, senior Australian lawyers familiar with the case told The Australian that public comments from her family in Adelaide might have unwittingly put Ms Sainsbury in danger.
Ms Sainsbury’s mother, Lisa Evans, said yesterday she was set up by a Colombian man she befriended while on a “working” holiday, having only left for Colombia on April 3 apparently to promote personal training.
However, her fiance, personal trainer Scotty Broadbridge, said on a fundraising page last night: “Although Cassie is a PT, she is not currently personal training and hasn’t been for six months.
“I don’t know why that was mentioned at all. She helped manage a commercial cleaning business that had both national and international clients ... it’s very easy for tourists to get targeted, especially in Colombia.”
He said she had juggled three jobs to save $20,000 to work in Bogota.
Ms Evans, who is on a disability pension, said her daughter had a good lawyer in Colombia who had said that if she pleads guilty and helps authorities track the Colombian man who gave her the package, she may only get a minimum sentence of six years, which could be reduced further, possibly to four years.
“Cassie rang him ... and said she’d been arrested and he automatically said, ‘Oh you’ve been arrested’, and he hung up and the phone was destroyed,” she told Melbourne radio 3AW. “She passed on the man’s number to police ... there’s CCTV footage.”
Legal sources said if the cartels got wind of what Ms Evans had been saying, then Ms Sainsbury could be in danger inside the notorious El Buen Pastor jail. It is understood lawyers in Australia have advised the family not to make any further public comments and to take down an online fundraising campaign which last night had collected $3770 from 88 donors in the past five days.
Ms Sainsbury’s sister Khala said Cassie had arrived in Colombia on April 3 on a trip to promote personal training and wanted to buy headphones to give as gifts for her upcoming wedding party. She said her sister had been a volunteer for the Country Fire Service, was on a “working holiday” and was planning her wedding. She said she feared her sister stood little chance of proving her innocence “in such a corrupt country”.
A CFS spokesman said yesterday Ms Sainsbury ended her service in July 2014. Her Facebook status is “married”.
People commenting on the fundraising page pointed out that Colombia did not offer working holiday visas to Australians, and questioned why a young South Australian woman with no ties to South America would plan to travel only to Colombia for one week.
Mr Broadbridge wrote: “If you don’t know Cassie, and the respectful, loving, caring person that she is, don’t be so negative.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it is providing assistance to an Australian woman arrested in Colombia.
Additional reporting: Rhian Deutrom
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