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ACCUSED Aussie drug mule Cassie Sainsbury continues to protest her innocence as she waits to learn her fate in a Bogota jail.
The 22-year-old was arrested by Colombian authorities last month, who found 5.8 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside several packages inside her suitcase.
Sainsbury and her family say she was in the notorious South American country on a working holiday and had purchased 18 pairs of headphones as gifts, in which the drugs were hidden.
But there are numerous holes in her story that have confused authorities, those watching the story and even Sainsbury’s lawyers.
Here are the problems with the troubled Australian’s tale.
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Cassie with her fiance Scott Broadbridge. Picture: Facebook.Source:Facebook
WHO BOUGHT THE TICKET?
Sainsbury insists she purchased her flights to and from Bogota herself, but Colombian authorities say it was an unknown ‘third party’ in Hong Kong that made the arrangements.
She came to the attention of America’s Drug Enforcement Agency because of the odd transaction.
They then alerted their narcotics counterparts in South America, who intercepted Sainsbury as she tried to leave the country.
Sainsbury is said to have travelled to Bogota from Australia via London and then Los Angeles — a somewhat odd travel route.
Her sister initially told reporters she expected to pick up her sister from Adelaide Airport on a day that she would’ve still been on her way home.
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Cassie’s sister, Khala Sainsbury. Picture: Dean Martin.Source:News Corp Australia
WHAT WORK WAS SHE DOING?
Sainsbury and her family say she was on a working holiday in Colombia … but what work was she doing?
Her sister and mother described her as a personal trainer but her fiance then revealed she hasn’t worked in that field for several months.
There was a story about her working for a cleaning company, but what purpose would the business have to send her to South America?
She also barely left her hotel room while in Bogota, with no evidence of meetings or other work engagements.
Colombia also doesn’t offer working holiday visas.
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The 5.8 kilograms of cocaine found in Cassie’s suitcase. Picture: AFP.Source:Supplied
WAS SHE IN DEBT BEFORE SHE LEFT?
Residents who spoke to Seven News in South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula alleged Sainsbury owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent from her failed gym, Yorke’s Fitness.
The Yorketown business opened in 2015 but only operated for six months before shutting its doors.
Allegations first emerged when a woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Advertiser that Sainsbury left the Yorke Peninsula owing several people money.
However her family, fiance and even her landlord have refuted the allegations.
Nick Paphitis told The Advertiser Sainsbury had paid all her rent before she left the Yorke Peninsula and moved to Adelaide.
“She paid every cent she owed me and that’s all I’m prepared to say,” he said.
The abandoned shed where Cassie Sainsbury ran her fitness gym. Picture: Toby Zerna.Source:News Corp Australia
WHY DIDN’T SHE CHECK HER HEADPHONES?
Sainsbury’s mother, Lisa Evans, said she bought the headphones cheap from a man acting as her translator as gifts for family and friends ahead of her wedding in February.
It’s believed she wrapped them in plastic before packing them into her suitcase without checking their contents.
Taking anything home from overseas is always a risk, but one that can be lessened by a few minutes spent checking items over.
Given the headphones were all different sizes, shapes and weights — there were also 18 pairs — it’s unfortunate she didn’t check them before leaving the country.
CCTV footage shows Cassie leaving her hotel in Bogota, Colombia, for the airport. Picture: Seven News.Source:Channel 7
THE HOTEL
Sainsbury did what very few travelling to Colombia — particularly solo women — do when she arrived at a Bogota hotel without a reservation.
She checked in, paying for only two nights at a time, and then barely left her room, hotel staff said.
Why had she travelled all the way to South America only to sit in a room?
Her only visitor was a well-dressed local man. Who was he? Is it the translator who offered to help her buy the headphones in bulk?
New images released of Cassie Sainsbury's final moments of freedom 0:30
Photos obtained by 7 News show Aussie woman Cassandra Sainsbury checking out of her hotel in her final moments of freedom before being arrested. Courtesy: 7 News/Sunrise
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