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Cassandra Sainsbury's cocaine smuggling case 'could be closed in 90 days if she admit

poledriver

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Cassandra Sainsbury's cocaine smuggling case 'could be closed in 90 days if she admits complicity'

Post articles about this chick and her case here.

The Adelaide woman could have her case ruled on in 90 days and complete her punishment in Australia if she admits to a level of complicity, her lawyer says.

An Adelaide woman accused of trying to smuggle cocaine out of Colombia could have her case ruled on in 90 days if she admits to a level of complicity, her newly appointed Colombian-based lawyer has said.

Cassandra Sainsbury, 22, is being held at El Buen Pastor Women's prison in Bogota after she was arrested on April 12 at the city's international airport for carrying 18 different packages of cocaine.

Lawyer Orlando Herran said she received the pre-wrapped packages from a man who claimed they were headphones and packed them in her luggage at the last minute.

"She bought several headphones, supposedly to sell them in Australia and gain money," he said.

If found guilty of drug trafficking, he said Ms Sainsbury could face a prison term of between eight and 20 years, depending on the level of her guilt and responsibility.

"But if we can get a deal with prosecutors, we could avoid drug trafficking charges and instead get complicity or something where she had a guilty act of not reviewing her luggage, and we could get a deal of a minimum of four years," Mr Herran said.

"She would have to present herself before authorities and [follow] rules of conduct and a series of controls. If we get this, we could ask that she return to Australia and keep this condition and finish her punishment with Australian authorities," Mr Herran said.

He said it could also allow them to request house arrest.

"We have difficulty with that, because Cassandra doesn't live here in Colombia and doesn't have a home," Mr Herran said.

"In that case, we would have to look for NGOs [non-government organisations] that could take on the responsibility of looking after Cassandra."

Colombian drug authorities, however, have dismissed claims by Ms Sainsbury's family that she is innocent.

Colonel Jorge Mendoza from the Colombian drug enforcement police department said it was an unsophisticated method of concealment and Ms Sainsbury would have known the narcotics were in her bags.

He was confident the seizure would lead to jail time and, depending on the quality of the drugs, she could face up to 20 years' imprisonment.

Sainsbury being held with other foreigners

Mr Herran said he was contacted by a mutual friend of the Sainsbury family who were "absolutely desperate" for a contact in Colombia.

"She is psychologically affected by this. She cries a lot, almost always, because she feels impotent with this situation," Mr Herran said.

"There is not a legal way to resolve her problems in one day two days three days. This is a whole process to be resolved and she will have to remain in prison."

He added every prison in Colombia included the presence of an ombudsman-like body, the "Defensoria del Pueblo".

"They verify that no human rights are being violated, but here in Colombia there are limitations in prison like space, comfort," Mr Herran said.

"There are discipline and restrictions so when someone gets there they are affected and they feel submitted, so this is what she has been telling me."

Narcotraffickers approaching foreigners

Mr Herran said narcotraffickers in his country were approaching foreigners and "even Colombians" and tricking them into promising to take a package.

"They don't check what they are receiving and then are surprised because that thing they were carrying had drugs," Ms Herran said.

"Usually these narcotraffickers disappear and then the victims don't have enough proof to demonstrate they were innocent.

"On the other hand, the authorities do have proof against them in the moment they are detained. They have drugs in their luggage."

Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.

"That person spoke English and she trusted him … he took her to see the city," he said.

"She wanted to buy some headphones and this guy told her he had a place where he could buy them cheap."

But Mr Herran warned that if they tried to argue Ms Sainsbury was innocent, the case could be delayed between a year and year-and-a-half.

"This depends a lot on her," he said.

"If one is convinced they are innocent, it's hard to say I accept this punishment, even if it's not that much.

"But in terms of convenience, I would suggest we go for the shorter process and get a small punishment and learn the lesson not to trust strangers.

"With that, she can continue her life, especially if we take into account she is young and inexperienced in these things.

Sainsbury case a 'stark reminder' for Australians: Bishop

"That consular assistance has included providing the names of local lawyers, also visiting her and also ensuring that she has some personal hygiene goods and also relaying information to her family," Ms Bishop said.

She said there were limitations to the assistance Australian authorities could provide.

"It is a stark reminder that when you leave Australia you are subject to the laws of the country you are visiting," she said.

"In the case of Colombia, the Australian Government's Smart Traveller advice has indicated that Australian visitors should exercise a high degree of caution, abide by the laws of the country and note that any offences relating to drugs carry very severe penalties," Ms Bishop said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-...Organic&WT.tsrc=Facebook_Organic&sf75574117=1
 
Colombia drug arrest: Mystery over buyer of Cassandra Sainsbury’s plane ticket

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Authorities are investigating the origin of a plane ticket purchased for Adelaide woman Cassandra Sainsbury, who was later arrested in Colombia on drugs charges.

The plane ticket was a last-minute cash purchase made by an unknown person in Hong Kong for the 22-year-old to travel to Colombia.

The ticket had a stop-over in London before Ms Sainsbury arrived in Bogota on April 3. By April 5, US authorities had alerted Colombia’s anti-narcotics police to the unusual purchase.

On April 12, Ms Sainsbury was arrested with 5.8kg of cocaine allegedly hidden inside 18 headphone boxes in her suitcase at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota.

She remains at El Buen Pastor women’s prison in Bogota.

A human rights lawyer told 9NEWS conditions inside female prisons in Colombia are grossly inadequate, and added it is “easier being a man in prison” than a woman.

Female prisons lack essential health services and there are times when not even one gynaecologist can attend to a prison population of 2000 women, Dr Reinaldo Villalba added.

Bogota’s narcotics chief Commander Rodrigo Soler said Ms Sainsbury had cleared security and checked her bag when the alert came up.

"The alert said check this person so we pulled her aside and we searched her luggage and we arrested her,” Commander Soler said.

“We asked 'is this your bag, did you pack this?'. She said 'yes'."


CONT - at http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...eing-arrested-in-colombia#Xv8GKkIC0arc54Ks.99
 
Cassie Sainsbury left hometown after racking up thousands in debt, residents claim

THERE are claims that accused drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury fled her South Australian town after racking up a sizeable debt.

Ms Sainsbury, 22, allegedly owes tens of thousands of dollars from her failed gym, Yorke’s Fitness, on the Yorke Peninsula, according residents who spoke to 7 News. The Australian reported that the debt was from unpaid rent for the gym.

The personal trainer opened the Yorketown business in 2015 but it closed six months later. Residents told 7 News that she vanished from town after the gym failed, leaving the massive debt in her wake.

Ms Sainsbury was arrested at an airport in Bogota, Colombia, on April 12 after 5.8 kilograms of cocaine was allegedly found inside 18 headphone sets in her suitcase. New CCTV pictures have since emerged of her leaving her hotel with the bags inquestion.

Yorketown florist Lyn Gates told Channel 7 that Ms Sainsbury “disappeared basically overnight” from Yorketown.

“It was a shock to me, plus the community,” she said.

“All of a sudden, she just took off and not paid — nicked — the rent and the equipment just disappeared.”

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School friend Steph Bajcarz told Seven: “She didn’t pay her rent for a really long time and it could be in the thousands.

“She just kind of shut it [the business] down and she said she was changing careers.”

An unnamed local woman also told The Advertiser that Ms Sainsbury left town suddenly while still owing money to several people.

The building in which the business was housed now stands empty, except for a blackboard inside that still bears inspirational slogans.

“Your mind is a powerful thing. When you fill it with positive thoughts, your life will start to change,” one of the remaining chalk messages reads.

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A 12-month membership for the gym cost $795.

Ms Sainsbury’s father Stuart defended his daughter yesterday, saying she was innocent and that she was set up by a Colombian man she met on April 3 during a working holiday in the country.

“I don’t believe she was a drug mule, she’s just my kid. Like, what parent thinks of their kid as a drug mule?” Mr Sainsbury told the Nine Network.

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Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has visited Ms Sainsbury inside Bogota’s El Buen Pastor prison and provided her with names of lawyers.

“Our diplomats are there to assist her in any way we can but I must stress there are limitations to what we can do once she’s subject to the laws of another country,” Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters in Adelaide on Wednesday.

It would “not be helpful” for her to speculate on emerging details of the arrest, Ms Bishop said.

“But it is a stark reminder that when you leave Australia you are subject to the laws of the country that you’re visiting,” she said.

“We have announced that we will have an embassy in Bogota and we don’t yet have one so we are providing assistance from outside Colombia.”

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Earlier it was revealed the US Drug Enforcement Agency reportedly alerted Colombian authorities to their suspicions about Ms Sainsbury.

“We found her because of an alert from the DEA [Drug Enforcement Agency],” Bogota airport’s narcotics chief, Commander Rodrigo Soler, told News Corp Australia.

He said she had already cleared security and checked her bag.

“The alert said ‘check this person’ so we pulled her aside and we searched her luggage and we arrested her. We asked ‘is this your bag, did you pack this?’. She said ‘yes’.”


Source: http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...m/news-story/2fd55cffe57c0e1b47128a51807fc4da
 
Yeah that debt just shows more of a reason why she did it I guess.
 
Yeah that debt just shows more of a reason why she did it I guess.

She has no excuse left.

I just wonder how she found the connection to even go there in the first place. She must of been hanging out with some shady people here by the looks of it.
 
Yep true. Maybe it'll come out in time how she met or found the connection to go there and get hooked up etc.
 
'A ghost': Cassandra Sainsbury's lawyer in search for alleged rogue guide

The lawyer for accused Australian drug mule Cassandra Sainsbury says they are desperately searching for the man who allegedly provided her with headphones filled with cocaine, but admits so far he has proved a "ghost".

Orlando Herrán told Fairfax Media that defence efforts had so far been focused on getting Ms Sainsbury out of her Colombian prison ahead of a trial and locating the man who had allegedly been showing her around town and provided her with the headphones where 5.8 kilograms of cocaine were discovered.

"There is no evidence of his true identity," Mr Herrán admitted, "[but] there are criminals who specialise in tricking foreigners in this way."

Mr Herrán said Ms Sainsbury's best chance of a reduced sentence was to negotiate with Colombian prosecutors in the two-month window before the start of her trial, but that his immediate priority was to find a way to get her out of prison.

"She's young and it is important that she gets out as soon as possible," the lawyer said, emphasising that, "There are many examples of Colombians and foreigners who have been able to reach an agreement with prosecutors."

"If we can show she hasn't had problems with police in Australia and no history of contact with drug traffickers, we can make a deal."

Under the Colombian legal system, there is a preliminary hearing where the charges are read and the accused is formally remanded in custody within days of being charged. By Colombian law, the next hearing must be within two months of the first.

Ms Sainsbury, 22, from South Australia, was detained at Bogota's El Dorado International Airport on April 12. Local police, allegedly acting on a tip-off, found 5.8 kilograms of cocaine distributed between sets of headphones in her luggage.

Mr Herrán said he has not spoken to his client since the 13th or 14th of April.

Fairfax Media asked Mr Herrán where the figure of an eight- to 20-year sentence had come from, as it has has been widely quoted.

"The report from the fiscal (prosecutor), said this (the prison term) would be between 8 and 20 years," he said, "There were no aggravating circumstances, like arms trafficking or a [larger] conspiracy."

However, this is in apparent contradiction of Colombia's Penal Code, which for carrying more than 2kg of cocaine dictates a minimum of 10 years, 8 months and a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

For more than five kilos [of cocaine], it's impossible that the minimum sentence would be lower than 10 years

Another Bogota-based lawyer, Liliana Saenz, who does not represent Ms Sainsbury, told Fairfax Media that it was important for the prosecutor to release the audio recordings of the preliminary hearing.

"All of these hearings are recorded. Listening to the recordings is the only way to know for sure what she has been charged with and how she pleaded to the charges. For more than five kilos [of cocaine], it's impossible that the minimum sentence would be lower than 10 years."

Back in Australia, Ms Sainsbury's father, Stuart Sainsbury spoke out for the first time since his daughter's arrest.

"I don't believe she was a drug mule, she's just my kid. What parent thinks their kid is a drug mule? I just love her and I can't change what's happened. I just have to be here when she comes home," he said on Channel Nine News.

Meanwhile, The Australian newspaper reported overnight that Ms Sainsbury is tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

According to her lawyer, Ms Sainsbury continues to contact her family daily by phone from Bogota's El Buen Pastor (The Good Shepherd) women's prison.


Source: http://www.smh.com.au/national/a-gh...-for-alleged-rogue-guide-20170503-gvyeo6.html
 
Colombia drug arrest: Lawyer says there's no proof Cassie Sainsbury was tricked

There is no proof yet that Australian woman Cassandra Sainsbury, who is being held in a Colombian jail, was tricked into allegedly carrying cocaine in her suitcase or that another person was involved in the act, her lawyer says.

Colombian-based lawyer Orlando Herran has been interviewed on Adelaide's FIVEaa radio in Spanish with the interview translated by presenter David Penberthy, who said the lawyer told him that Ms Sainsbury has not yet decided how to plead to the drugs charges.

The 22-year-old was arrested at the El Dorado International Airport on April 12 after 5.8kg of cocaine was allegedly found hidden inside 18 headphone boxes in her suitcase.

Mr Herran said the Adelaide woman has told him she was tricked and was given the headphones by a man she knew only by Angelo or Tom.

The man offered to buy her the headphones for a cheap price and brought them to her at the airport, Ms Sainsbury told Mr Herran.

But while Mr Herran said he believes her story, he's acknowledged they have a problem.

"He says that the grave problem is that at this point, we do not have any proof that she really was tricked or that this other person that she refers to exists or is guilty," Mr Penberthy said while translating.

Mr Herran said the risk of taking the case before a judge is that if they claim Ms Sainsbury is innocent without proof and lose the hearing, she could be jailed for between eight and 20 years.

But Mr Herran said it's possible she could strike a deal with the Colombian district attorney for a sentence as low as four years, if they take into account her youth, character and that she has never done anything wrong before.

"Also that her version of what happened is probably true despite any evidence to support her claim," Mr Penberthy said.

Earlier Ms Sainsbury's father Stuart Sainsbury told 9NEWS his daughter is certainly no drug mule.

Mr Sainsbury also said he can't believe what is being said about his daughter on Facebook.

"I don't believe she was a drug mule, she's just my kid. Like, what parent thinks of their kid as a drug mule" Mr Sainsbury said yesterday.

Media reports have suggested Ms Sainsbury is in serious debt after the collapse of her fitness business in the South Australian town of Yorketown.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...ares-daughter-s-innocence#UQGbOCrSdx88gqeM.99
 
All smiles before the Narco agents swooped: The moment 'Colombian Cassie' Sainsbury, 22, checked out of her $40-a-night Bogota hotel room with a suitcase 'packed with 5.8kg of cocaine'

Photographs have emerged showing the moment accused drugs smuggler Cassandra Sainsbury checked out of her Colombian hotel with a suitcase allegedly packed with 5.8 kilograms of cocaine.

The CCTV images, obtained by 7 News, show the personal trainer cheerfully interacting with hotel staff before leaving the building in the same clothes she was arrested in.

Her last night of freedom was spent in a cramped $40-a-night hotel room in a dodgy part of Bogota near the airport she had planned to fly back to Australia from.

The 22-year-old from Adelaide was at the tail end of an international trip that saw her visit China and the United States before arriving in South America's cocaine capital.

But she drew the attention of the DEA when her plane ticket home to Australia via London was reportedly purchased last minute by an 'unknown party' in Hong Kong.

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Hotel manager Ingrid Hernandez said she remembered the young blonde woman well because she was alone, had no booking and didn't speak a word of Spanish.

'It is unusual for tourists to arrive without a booking, particularly if they are a young woman alone like she was,' she told News Corp Australia.

The security footage comes after claims emerged the personal trainer was in tens of thousands of dollars of debt from a failed gym venture before she landed in a Colombian prison.

A woman, who wished not to be named, claimed Ms Sainsbury owed money to several people after her business collapsed last September, reports the Adelaide Advertiser.

A local florist also claimed she 'disappeared basically overnight' from Adelaide owing tens of thousands in debt, 7 News reports.

The claims come as ominous social media posts come to light in which the 22-year-old predicted a monumental event before her ill-fated trip.

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In the January 10 Instagram post, she appeared to be predicting a fateful event on the horizon.

'50 days until I make the biggest move I've yet to do ... 50 days until everything changes.'

In another deleted post from January 24, she said: 'Moving interstate driving me cray cray! #save me! Not long before the big move now, super excited and can't wait to leave so much baggage behind.'

The posts also contained hashtags suggesting her relocation to Sydney in early March, when the countdown ended.

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Other posts revealed she jetted to Bogota from LA and arrived on April 3.

The young woman's family claim she was on a working holiday to Colombia to promote her personal training business.

But her fiance, Scott Broadbridge said she had not been a personal trainer for six months prior to the trip, and was working for a cleaning company at the time.

Colombian police claim a tip-off led to the arrest of an Australian woman who was found with 18 bags of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.7 million.

On April 3 she posted a photo of LAX - Los Angeles International Airport - with the caption 'going from China's lovely 27 degree weather to LA's 7 degree weather is killing me'.

In January, posts by the young woman indicate she was a separate 'work trip', this time to Canada, where she complained of being tired and used the hashtag #hometimesoon.

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Her newly appointed Colombian lawyer has claimed he could have her case ruled on in 90 days if she admits to a level of guilt in the drug smuggling, reports ABC.

Lawyer Orlando Herran said she could end up with 'conditional liberty', allowing her the possibility of returning home to Australia to serve out a suspended sentence.

'She would have to present herself before authorities and (follow) rules of conduct and a series of controls,' Mr Herran told the ABC.

'If we get this, we could ask that she return to Australia and keep this condition and finish her punishment with Australian authorities.'

Mr Herran also said Cassandra had bought the headphones to 'sell in Australia and make money' - totally at odds with her family's explanation that they were gifts for her bridal party.

3FD882DE00000578-4464864-image-a-23_1493711537591.jpg


Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Sainsbury-seen-checking-Colombian-hotel.html
 
Seems like she has done this before or was just prepping for this last hoorah.
 
Colombia drug arrest: Cassandra Sainsbury seeking psychological treatment

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Cassandra Sainsbury’s lawyer has told 9NEWS she is not coping inside a Colombian prison and is constantly crying and asking for her mother and sister.

The 22-year-old’s lawyer, Orlando Herran, said the Australian consulate has assisted Ms Sainsbury in receiving access to a psychologist inside El Buen Pastor women’s jail to help with her mental health.

The psychologist that has been provided only speaks Spanish and a translator is required, Mr Herran said.

El Buen Pastor prison is one of the biggest women’s jails in Colombia, and is notorious for harsh conditions and overcrowding.

The Adelaide woman was arrested at Bogota’s El Dorado airport on April 12 after being found with almost 6kg of cocaine hidden inside headphone boxes.

It comes as revelations unfold of a mystery man who visited the hotel where she was staying.

There are reports the man could be who Ms Sainsbury’s mother, Lisa Evan’s, said she befriended during her time in Bogota – “Angelo” - , and who she said tricked her into packing the drugs in her suitcase.

Rosada, the assistant manager of the Hotel Inter Bogota where Ms Sainsbury was staying, told 9NEWS she kept to herself and stayed in her room most of the time and didn’t “go out like most visitors”.

“I saw her with a man once or twice… he was tall and in his mid-30s,” she said.

Mr Herran also told FIVEaa radio, in Spanish, there was no proof she was tricked by the mystery man and it would be difficult to prove.

"He says that the grave problem is that at this point, we do not have any proof that she really was tricked or that this other person that she refers to exists or is guilty," the station’s David Penberthy said while translating.

Mr Herran said it's possible she could strike a deal with the Colombian district attorney for a sentence as low as four years, if they take into account her youth, character and that she has never done anything wrong before.

Ms Sainsbury’s fiancé Scott Broadbridge has also denied reports she owed thousands in debt from Yorke’s Fitness on the Yorke Peninsula to the west of Adelaide.

He is due to address the media today.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...seeking-medical-treatment#rkTBhW7C8ifPU32X.99
 
Colombia drug arrest: Cassandra Sainsbury’s fiancé says he has no doubt she is innocent

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The fiancé of accused drug smuggler Cassandra Sainsbury has addressed the media in Adelaide, saying he has no doubt of his wife-to-be’s innocence.

“I will support her no matter how long this takes. Cass and I are engaged to be married and I intend to marry her,” Scott Broadbridge told reporters at a planned press conference with his lawyer.

“Cass is the delight of my life. She is not involved in the drug trade… (and she was not) deliberately taking drugs or carrying drugs anywhere.

“There are many unanswered questions in this case and I intend to work with the lawyers to get to the bottom of them… We talk almost every day and it is a great comfort to both of us. She is concerned about the conditions of the jail which are not ideal.

“I hope to be able to get over there soon and I hope that we are able to prove her innocence.”

The 22-year-old Adelaide woman was arrested at Bogota’s El Dorado airport in Colombia on April 12 after being found with almost 6kg of cocaine hidden inside headphone boxes.

She remains at El Buen Pastor prison, one of the largest women’s jails in the country, which is notorious for harsh conditions and overcrowding.

Her lawyer in Colombia, Orlando Herran, told 9NEWS this morning a psychologist is visiting her to assist with her mental health.

Mr Broadbridge asked the media to refrain from visiting his house and probing him with questions, instead asking for privacy as the case moved forward.

Mr Broadbridge refused to answer any other questions, and let his lawyer continue the press conference.

Lawyer Stephen Kenny said he “did not have answers to many of the questions” that were still left open in the matter.

“Colombia, like Australia, has a presumption of innocence and I would like to think you’d apply it in this case,” he said.

“Cass’s defence will be run in a court in Colombia, not in the media in Adelaide. We have great faith in the Colombian legal system and will be doing everything we can to provide her with the best possible defence.”

Mr Kenny, who is acting on behalf of Mr Broadbridge and Ms Sainsbury pro bono, said he has spoken to the accused in Colombia this morning.

More to come.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...gota-colombia-drug-arrest#YpDohpgLFvPEGF91.99
 
Colombia drug arrest: Cassandra Sainsbury ‘refusing’ to leave prison cell

Cassandra Sainsbury’s mental health has reportedly deteriorated inside a Colombian prison to the point where she is refusing to leave her prison cell, a day after it was revealed the 22-year-old is ‘permanently crying’.

Prison sources have told 9NEWS Ms Sainsbury yesterday refused to leave the tiny, crowded cell and mix with other prisoners at El Buen Pastor prison in Bogota.

It’s believed part of it comes from a distrust between Ms Sainsbury and the prison guards, who do not speak English.

It comes after her Colombian lawyer, Orlando Herran, confirmed she is seeing a psychologist for her condition, with help from the Australian consulate.

“I can see she’s very difficult, she’s very affected, psychologically affected,” he said.

“She’s very, very crying, permanently crying and very sad.”

Mr Herran said Ms Sainsbury was continuously crying and asking for her family.

The judge who initially heard Ms Sainsbury’s plea last month slammed suggestions she may be able to strike a deal to serve any time she might be sentenced to in Australia.

“The system is clear. Do the crime in Colombia, do the time in Colombia,” Judge John Jairo Zambraro told 9NEWS through an interpreter.

Reports have also surfaced that the 22-year-old South Australian woman at first didn’t trust the mystery man – “Angelo” - who she came to befriend.


Continued at http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...-sainsbury-bogota-cocaine#ExG1S8MEhPzYkFY7.99
 
Colombia drug arrest: Cassandra Sainsbury ‘refusing’ to leave prison cell

Cassandra Sainsbury’s mental health has reportedly deteriorated inside a Colombian prison to the point where she is refusing to leave her prison cell, a day after it was revealed the 22-year-old is ‘permanently crying’.

Prison sources have told 9NEWS Ms Sainsbury yesterday refused to leave the tiny, crowded cell and mix with other prisoners at El Buen Pastor prison in Bogota.

It’s believed part of it comes from a distrust between Ms Sainsbury and the prison guards, who do not speak English.

It comes after her Colombian lawyer, Orlando Herran, confirmed she is seeing a psychologist for her condition, with help from the Australian consulate.

“I can see she’s very difficult, she’s very affected, psychologically affected,” he said.

“She’s very, very crying, permanently crying and very sad.”

Mr Herran said Ms Sainsbury was continuously crying and asking for her family.

The judge who initially heard Ms Sainsbury’s plea last month slammed suggestions she may be able to strike a deal to serve any time she might be sentenced to in Australia.

“The system is clear. Do the crime in Colombia, do the time in Colombia,” Judge John Jairo Zambraro told 9NEWS through an interpreter.

Reports have also surfaced that the 22-year-old South Australian woman at first didn’t trust the mystery man – “Angelo” - who she came to befriend.

http%3a%2f%2fprod.static9.net.au%2f_%2fmedia%2f2017%2f05%2f06%2f10%2f01%2f20170505001304995353original.ashx%3fw%3d603


Ms Sainsbury claims he gave her the tightly-wrapped boxes of cocaine which she thought were headphones.

“She said that the first day she didn’t trust him, the second day a little bit, the third day she trusted him, because he seemed very friendly,” Mr Herran told News Corp.

She was arrested at Bogota’s El Dorado airport on April 12 after being caught with almost 6kg of the drug.

The Drug Enforcement Authority in the US tipped off Colombian authorities days after she arrived in their country.

The assistant manager of Hotel Inter Bogota where Ms Sainsbury was staying said she remembered Ms Sainsbury having a visitor who was dark-skinned and tall.

Yesterday, her partner Scott Broadbridge fronted the media with his lawyer Stephen Kenny.

He protested his wife-to-be's innocence and vowed to stand by her "no matter how long this takes".


Source: http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...-sainsbury-bogota-cocaine#1omrt1zWuYxAyiB7.99
 
She didn't trust him on the first day, so she spent 2 more days with him. Liar liar pants on fire.

Doesn't want interviews cause she can't even think of a good lie, she's in way too deep with zero cover story.

Also, is it just me or is she kinda fat to be a personal trainer?
 
And if she needed to go all the way to South America to "buy headphones" (you'd think she could have done that in China lol) then why spend $20,000 on a week in Colombia if she was so - apparently - short of money?

Nothing fucking adds up.
 
Not looking good for her.
As naive (and/or desperate) as she obviously was, to try to pull this off - i still feel really sorry for her.

The cocaine trade is one nasty, nasty business.
People's lives mean nothing to the smugglers, even less to the cartels. So much unecessary human misery.
From the farmers, to the mules, to the end users getting health problems from fucking levamisole - cocaine is a dirty, depressing game.

Legalisation and regulation would bring so many social/political/economic advantages to people who are currently being exploited - or being (presumably?) forced to gamble their lives for some piddly 5kg of coke which would never had made it to australia underected anyway. Just fucked up.

So wasteful. Just a tragic tale all-round, from what i've heard.
 
Aust steps up fight against imported drugs

Australian Federal Police have joined a multi-national task force to tackle the growing problem of drugs being imported from South America.

The AFP already has a base in the Colombian capital of Bogota and is now setting one up in Mexico after identifying a cartel there as being in charge of most of the illicit drugs being shipped to Australia, News Corp reported on Sunday.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan will also visit Colombia later this year to discuss ways to stop drugs flowing to Australia.

The moves by the AFP and government come as South Australian woman Cassandra Sainsbury remains in a Colombian jail after being arrested for allegedly having nearly six kilograms of cocaine in her luggage at Bogota airport.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...ht-against-imported-drugs#gFIFKRZ2FRkTByfs.99
 
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