Three Canadians Got Busted Smuggling a Shit-Ton of Cocaine on a Cruise Ship

I have never been on a cruise ship, but I imagine I would need a lot of drugs to get through the experience of being stuck in the middle of the sea with nothing but the elderly, young families, and shitty variety shows to entertain me.

A Canadian trio seems to have taken that idea to the next level, having just been busted for smuggling 95 kilograms of cocaine onto their cruise, the MS Sea Princess, en route from Southampton, UK to Sydney, Australia.

Andre Tamine, 63, Isabelle Lagace, 28, and Melina Roberge, 22, were arrested in Sydney after they were caught hiding the massive stash, valued at $30 million, in their suitcases. They've been charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine; a conviction could carry a life sentence.

According to the CBC, both the Canada Border Services Agency and the US Department of Homeland Security singled out the alleged drug smugglers as "high-risk passengers" and informed Australian authorities of their suspicions. I wonder what gave them away. Maybe they took one too many bathroom breaks, or appeared to be engaged in deep conversations at 5 AM about their idea for a startup that is definitely going to make them rich.

None of the suspects has entered a plea. But, giving them the benefit of the doubt for a second, it's possible they were on a philanthropic mission. Cocaine is very hard to score in Australia (probably because it's so geographically isolated)—I've been told it costs around $300 a gram.

With this large shipment now out of commission, it seems the Aussies are stuck getting their blow the old fashioned way: doing ski holidays in Whistler.

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