Adelaide personal trainer Cassie Sainsbury is facing 25 years in prison after she was arrested at Colombia's El Dorado International Airport on April 11 carrying nearly six kilograms of cocaine. The 22-year-old is currently detained in El Buen Pastor—a women's prison on the outskirts of Bogotá, which is reportedly heavily overcrowded.Sainsbury's family says Cassie arrived in Colombia on April 3 for a working holiday, and stayed eight days before attempting to return home. As she was passing through airport security, X-ray scanners picked up cocaine concealed inside headphone cases. "They found 5.8kg of cocaine concealed in packaging which was meant to be gifts for people for her bridal party and family friends," Cassie's sister Khala told The Advertiser.
Advertisement
According to her family, Cassie bought the 15 pairs of headphones on the day she was set to leave Colombia from a man who'd been showing her around during the week she was there. They contend she had no idea there were drugs inside the packaging. "He had been helping her all week, taking her around and showing her places, and just being a nice guy," Cassie's mum, Lisa Evans, told the Kyle & Jackie O show. "She mentioned about these headphones she wanted to get and this man said to her: 'I know a guy that if you buy 16 or 18 of them, he can give you a really good price.'"The man allegedly dropped the headphones off to Cassie's hotel the morning she was set to leave, individually wrapped in black plastic. "This is where the naive bit comes in," Lisa told the radio show. "She didn't even rip it open to make sure it was headphones in there." Cassie's mother also speculated her daughter may have been used as bait, so a larger shipment of drugs could slip through security.
"The authorities rushed through her hearing, and [she] was denied bail," Cassie's sister Khala has said. "It sounds like they want to make an example of her." In the wake of the arrest, the 22-year-old's family has hired a lawyer who's allegedly advising her to plead guilty in order to avoid a maximum jail sentence of 25 years.Cassie is currently being held in Bogota's El Buen Pastor women's prison, which is best known for its annual beauty pageant where inmates compete for the crown. Her family has started a crowdfunding campaign to help raise $15,000 to cover legal fees.More to come.
ORIGINAL REPORTING ON EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS IN YOUR INBOX.
By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.