Colombian authorities were alerted of alleged drug mule Cassandra Sainsbury after her last-minute plane ticket to the South American nation was purchased by an unknown buyer in Hong Kong, The Australian reports.
This new information comes after law enforcement officials admitted that they’d received a tip-off from other international drug agencies, who’d identified the 22-year-old’s travel plans as suspicious.
Sainsbury, the Adelaide woman found with 5.8kg of cocaine allegedly stashed within several sets of headphones she’d purchased as gifts, had been in Colombia for little over a week when she was arrested at Bogota international airport.
via Colombian Police.
The airport’s trafficking control head Colonel Rodrigo Soler said the ticket’s unknown source, and the relatively short duration of Sainsbury’s stay, were two factors that contributed to her arrest.
In addition to information gleaned at customs regarding who purchased her ticket – authorities asked “who bought your tickets? Where did you buy it?” – Colonel Soler told The Australian “when someone leaves their country for Colombia without a strong justification — for instance if a person comes to Colombia for two or three days — that triggers an alert.”
Sainsbury has maintained her innocence in the ordeal since being arrested. Colonel Soler offered his perspective on how likely it was she had been duped into transporting the drugs, saying that only 10 percent of travellers caught with drugs were legitimately unaware of their presence.
She’s currently being held at El Buen Pastor prison, awaiting her first court date.
