Drug smuggler Corby finally home
AUSTRALIA: After almost 13 years in Bali, convicted drugsmuggler Schapelle Corby returned to Queensland yesterday with a media pack following - or attempting to follow - her every move.
Reporters and camera crews remained at the home of Schapelle’s mother yesterday, after family and friends left the residence just before 10am.
Neighbours have watched the dozens of media come and go from the Loganlea home, with plenty of other cars driving through the street to have a look around.
Corby travelled with her sister Mercedes Corby and a body guard on the Malindo Air flight that left Denpasar, Bali, on yesterday and touched down in Brisbane at 5.09am - ahead of its scheduled 5.40am arrival.
Corby managed to avoid the media, as she changed her flight at the last minute to Malindo Air from Virgin Australia. Upon arrival she was whisked away from Brisbane Airport under the cover of early-morning darkness without detection.
A lot has happened since Schapelle Corby was convicted of smuggling more than 4kg of marijuana in her boogie board bag.
Australia has sworn in five prime ministers. Brangelina split. And avocados became the scapegoat for millennials not buying homes.
But it appears the 39-year-old convicted drug smuggler has wasted no time in getting up-todate with the outside world via social media.
Corby has created an Instagram account from Bali and a Snapchat account to share her homecoming with the world.
Her debut gram, a photo of her two dogs Luna and May, was posted from her Kuta home only hours before she was picked up by a police convoy to begin her trip home to Australia.
It has already gathered more than 7000 likes.
‘‘Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&may,’’ Corby posted.
Her second post, which appeared after she was whisked away by police, shows her ‘‘Bali family’’, including sister Mercedes and brother Michael Corby Jr.
‘‘Big thank you to my Bali family, neighbours and my brother in law Wayan,’’ she wrote.
She then posted a series of pictures, including one of her parole papers.
The account had reached more than 97,000 followers since yesterday morning.
But she didn’t stop there. Corby has also taken to social media app Snapchat to thank her supporters.
‘‘Thank you for all the love and support everybody x’’, she wrote.
Some members of the public were quick to throw support behind the 39-year-old who arrived in Brisbane just after 5am on Sunday morning.
‘‘Good job girls. Stay strong ignore the haters. Welcome back to the Gold Coast Shappelle,’’ one supporter said on Instagram.
‘‘Welcome home @schapelle.corby and don’t let a**holes take away the joy you must be experiencing! Enjoy every second of it !!!!! ’’ Another user said.
Fellow travellers arriving at Brisbane from Bali witnessed the operation to return Corby home under the radar.
Jane Szach and Kerry Webb, who were visiting Szach’s daughter in Bali, said the departure gate at Denpasar International Airport was changed twice without notification. Passengers arrived at the gate to find no officials and it wasn’t until they scanned the departures board did they realised what had happened.
They added that a van came racing past the bus taking general passengers to the Malindo Air flight, with Corby understood to be in the separate vehicle.
On the flight itself, Szach and Webb said they briefly saw Corby with her sister Mercedes and a bodyguard referred to as ‘John’.
‘‘We were quite shocked that she was on our flight,’’ they said.
‘‘But she looked amazing. She seemed fine and very relaxed.’’
Corby said in a statement that her focus had turned to ‘‘healing and moving forward’’.
‘‘It is with gratefulness and relief that we mark Schapelle Corby’s return to Australia,’’ the family statement read by a member of the security team said.
‘‘We would like to say thank you to Schapelle’s supporters for all the faith, love and support they have shown over the years.
‘‘To all those in Australia and to all of those in Bali, who were there throughout the difficult journey, your support has not gone unnoticed.
‘‘To each and every one of you, you are appreciated.’’
The family called for privacy as the convicted drug smuggler tries to settle back into life in Queensland. - Fairfax, AAP