A DEAL FOR CASSIE?

The jailed alleged drug mule weighs up her options

ON THE EVE OF CASSIE SAINSBURY’S next court appearance, her lawyer has revealed he wants to make a deal. South Australian Sainsbury, 22, was arrested on April 11 at Colombia’s El Dorado airport with 18 bags of cocaine allegedly hidden inside at least 15 headphone cases.

While the former personal trainer has said she had no idea the boxes contained the 5.8kg haul, her Bogotá lawyer Orlando Herran says that admitting some guilt will mean less time in prison. “The option is [for Cassie] to accept some of the responsibility, but not all,” he tells WHO. If the prosecution accepts the option, Sainsbury could serve as little as four years in prison. “The alternative is a full sentence, which would be between 22½ and 30 years,” says Herran.

At press time, Sainsbury’s next hearing was scheduled for July 26.

On July 24, Adelaide’s Advertiser reported that Sainsbury had already been offered a deal by authorities: to provide information about the drug syndicate she was allegedly working for, or face decades in jail. Counters Herran: “There is no proposal from the prosecution.”

Meanwhile, Sainsbury remains in custody in Bogotá’s El Buen Pastor women’s prison. “The conditions in the prison are not good but she has medical, dental, legal and security services,” says her lawyer. “But obviously being imprisoned is difficult.” n

Sainsbury (in a Facebook photo) claimed she was in Colombia on a business trip for her cleaning company.

Sainsbury (on April 12) with the haul of cocaine apparently found in her luggage.

At the time of her arrest, Sainsbury (behind bars in El Buen Pastor prison) was engaged to personal trainer Scott Broadbridge.