Cocaine Cassie plea deal bid
ACCUSED drug mule Cassie Sainsbury will have to reveal members of her alleged cocaine smuggling syndicate under a proposed prosecution plea deal that would dramatically reduce any jail term and leave her in hiding.
Sources close to the case have said Colombian authorities are demanding to know who supplied the drugs found in her luggage and secret de- tails on the failed trafficking operation.
Without this crucial information, it is understood prosecutors will not honour any plea bargain ahead of a new court hearing later this week.
The legal deal would also likely prompt Sainsbury, 22, of Adelaide, to enter a witness protection program to safeguard her against retribution from the alleged drug cartel.
Despite receiving legal advice urging her to take the deal, which could reduce a potential 30-year jail sentence to just four years behind bars, it is understood Sainsbury continues to protest her innocence.
Sainsbury, a former personal trainer dubbed “Cocaine Cassie”, was caught with 5.8kg of cocaine inside 18 headphone cases in her luggage at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota on April 11.
She was en route to London when she was stopped metres from the boarding gate after a tip-off from US agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Sainsbury initially claimed she bought the headphones as gifts for her bridal party.
Since her arrest, Sainsbury has been held at Bogota’s maximum El Buen Pastor women’s prison.
Some members of her family later alleged she was threatened into trafficking the drugs by an unnamed Colombian drug cartel.
Her Bogota-based lawyer Orlando Herran said yesterday that the latest hearing would be a chance for the ac- cusations to be publicly aired.
He said it was the second of four hearings to be conducted over the coming months before any trial occurs.
Mr Herran said he was trying to negotiate a plea bargain and was hopeful a deal could be struck.
“If the judge accepts, a plea bargain can be tried,” he said.
Mr Herran, who last week said her defence needed urgent assistance from the Australian Government, would not reveal specific details on the case.
Members of her family declined to comment last night as did her Adelaide-based lawyer.
While she faces up to three decades behind bars if convicted, officials say if she pleads guilty the minimum sentence is six years, which could be reduced to four years through a plea bargain.
It is understood authorities will not accept a deal unless Sainsbury reveals who gave her the cocaine as well as further information on the trafficking operation.