It’s not looking good for SA’s Cassandra Sainsbury. The 22-year-old former personal trainer has maintained her innocence since news broke about her drug bust in Colombia. Here’s what’s happened so far:
Ms Sainsbury arrived in Bogota, Colombia on April 3. Within days, the US DEA had forwarded her passport details to local authorities. According to Colonel Rodrigo Soler, El Dorado Airport’s head of narcotics, her travel profile fitted the pattern of a typical tourist drug mule. Another red flag that led to her arrest was a last-minute outbound flight to London, purchased for her by an unknown party in Hong Kong.
There are conflicting reports of Ms Sainsbury’s alleged travel plans out of Colombia. Some outlets initially claimed that she was due to fly back to Australia. However, recent reports say her outbound flight was destined for London. Earlier today, a spokesperson for the AFP stated that they “[had] not provided any information or assistance to Colombian authorities in relation to Ms Sainsbury.” This indicates that authorities did not expect the cocaine to be distributed in Australia.
On April 11, Ms Sainsbury was apprehended at the final immigration checkpoint of El Dorado Airport before she could board her flight to London. Authorities asked if she had packed her own suitcase, to which she said “yes”. They then searched the suitcase and found 5.8kg cocaine separated in 18 black packets. Mr Soler stated that it was “not really a very sophisticated mode of concealment”, and that it was “difficult to say that she did not know that the substance was inside her suitcase”.
Ms Sainsbury was handcuffed and photographed next to the 18 packages. She told authorities that she had spent time with a local man who took her sightseeing and acted as her translator. He allegedly offered to get her a good deal on some headphones, which she wanted to give to friends and family back home. It is alleged that he put the drugs into her suitcase under the guise that they were headphones.
Mr Mendoza cast doubt on her excuse, saying: “Her explanation is not credible. Everyone we catch says they didn’t know it was in their luggage, but they know what they were doing.” In contrast, Ms Sainsbury’s family have called her “naïve” for not bothering to “even rip [the headphones boxes] open to make sure there were headphones in there”.
Khala Sainsbury set up a fundraising campaign, with a goal of $15000, to help with her sister’s legal fees. In the description, she states that Ms Sainsbury had been in Colombia on a working holiday. She also refers to Colombia as a “corrupt” country, and asserts that officials “want to make an example” of Ms Sainsbury. The campaign raised $4232 before being shut down due to a barrage of negative comments.
Ms Sainsbury has been denied bail, and is being held at El Buen Pastor prison. The prison is severely overpopulated, housing some 50000 female inmates. It is notorious for its filthy and dangerous conditions, rampant drug use, violent inmates and corrupt guards. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that they were assisting an Australian woman arrested in Colombia, but did not give further details due to privacy obligations.
Ms Sainsbury’s family has hired a lawyer who is purportedly advising her to plead guilty, to avoid a potential jail sentence of up to 25 years. Although the minimum sentence is six years, Ms Sainsbury's mother, Lisa Evans, is hoping for a reduced sentence of four years, if her daughter provides information about the man who gave her the drugs.
She will face trial in two months time.
