HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF?
As Schapelle comes to the end off her paroleparole period in Bali, 22-year-old Adelaide woman Cassie Sainsbury is facing a similar fate in Colombia. She was arrested at Bogata airport after officers found 5.8kg of cocaine in her luggage ahead of a flight to London. She claims she was tricked into carrying the drugs, and that she thought she’d bought 18 sets of headphones for her bridesmaids ahead of her wedding in February next year.
Behind bars in the notorious El Buen Pastor prison, the personal trainer claims she is innocent, though it remains unclear exactly why she was in Colombia and who paid for her ticket to London just hours before she was due to board.
Her friends and family are campaigning to raise funds for her legal representation, and are said to have sold her story to 60 Minutes for an “eye-watering” amount. Cassie is also hoping Aussie taxpayers will help fund her case. “They are looking for state funds in Australia for the legal costs,” her Colombian lawyer Orlando Herron said.
Schapelle and some of the Bali Nine also took advantage of the scheme that helps Aussies who face extreme sentences abroad. Cassie is facing 25 years in prison.