Alright. We’re here again: an Aussie has been caught in an overseas drug stitch-up.
Adelaide woman Cassie Sainsbury – who’s been charged with drug trafficking in Colombia after cops found 5.8kg of cocaine hidden inside 18 pairs of headphones in her luggage – might be the latest story to hit headlines, but she’s by no means alone.
So how do you ensure you don’t (accidentally) become one of them?
1. Know the laws of the country to which you’ll be travelling. This might seem obvious, but did you know that in the United Arab Emirates, even illegal drugs detected in your blood or urine counts as possession? Or that even in the marijuana-friendly Netherlands capital of Amsterdam, it’s still illegal for foreigners to purchase cannabis? Look ’em up, fam.
2. Do not, under any circumstances, carry anything unknown to you across borders. Details are still unclear in Cassie Sainbury’s case, but her mum told KIIS FM that she was given a package she believed contained headphones and put it into her luggage without questioning it. You know those forms you sign at the airport declaring you and only you packed your bag? Not a joke. Don’t accept random crap from anyone – especially not a fertility snake bowl à la ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason‘.
This includes pieces of luggage ‘won’ while travelling, as tripped up a nice elderly Perth couple a few years back who accidentally transported 7kg of methamphetamine back from Canada.
3. Make sure your prescription or over-the-counter meds purchased in Australia aren’t actually considered illegal overseas. You can contact the embassy prior to travel to get this one sorted.
4. Take extra precautions if you’ve dealt with drug addiction in the past. Smart Traveller takes the D.A.R.E. approach and advises everyone to avoid associating with drug users (it would say that), but advises extra caution to people with a history of addiction, which makes a fair bit of sense. It suggests those who’ve dealt with addiction in the past just straight-up avoid places where illegal drugs are readily available.
5. Remember that the Australian Government can’t bail you out. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop‘s blood pressure must skyrocket every time an Aussie is involved in an overseas incident. Whenever a story reaches critical mass media coverage (the Bali Nine, or the Malaysian budgie blokes), she appears in front of a podium once again to remind us all that neither she nor anyone else has the power to bail Aussies out on account of them being Australian.
6. Don’t be lazy with your bags. While it’s fairly common practise these days to lock your bag up, travel safety expert Phil Sylvester from Travel Insurance Direct says most locks can be broken into with a Biro pen and a healthy appreciation of YouTube videos.
“What we suggest to people is to use ziplock ties,” he told PEDESTRIAN.TV. “Ideally, get coloured zip lock ties and use a pattern that you’ll remember (your favourite sports team, for example). Then if your bag comes back with a different colour combination, don’t touch it. Go straight to customs and tell them your bag has been tampered with.”
Get your best ‘I need to speak to the manager’ face on and GIT, fam.
Photo: Netflix.
