The US Drug Enforcement Agency tipped off Colombian authorities to their suspicions about an Australian woman potentially smuggling drugs out of the country before Cassandra Sainsbury was arrested at Bogota international airport, according to reports.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The last-minute purchase of a plane ticket in Hong Kong for the Adelaide woman to travel to Colombia via London was a red flag that raised the suspicions of US drug authorities, who alerted their Colombian counterparts, according to The Australian.
The plane ticket was purchased by an unknown party for Ms Sainsbury to travel to the South American country alone, and for a relatively short period.
Police arrested Ms Sainsbury, 22, inside El Dorado International Airport, in Colombia's capital Bogota, on April 11 as she prepared to board a flight to London.
She had arrived in Colombia on April 3, and Channel Seven reported that US authorities may have forwarded her passport details to Colombian police as early as April 5, warning she may attempt to smuggle drugs.
Reports suggest Ms Sainsbury had already checked in her suitcase and was about to clear the final immigration check when she was stopped.
Colombian police allege that, when they searched the former personal trainer's suitcase, they found 5.8 kilograms of cocaine concealed in 18 headphone boxes. She was handcuffed and photographed in front of the drugs, before being taken to El Buen Pastor women's prison in Bogota, where she continues to be held.
Colonel Rodrigo Soler, the airport's head of narcotics, told The Australian that Ms Sainsbury's travel profile fitted a well-established pattern of drug mules, which raised the suspicions of US authorities.
Ms Sainsbury's family claims she had purchased the headphones as gifts to give to friends and members of her bridal party, ahead of her wedding to her fiance, Scott Broadbridge, in February next year.
Her sister, Khala, said in the days prior to her flight home, her sister "was with somebody she had met that could speak English and she was sightseeing".
"He was showing her around," Khala said of the local man.
When Ms Sainsbury saw some headphones she was going to buy for gifts, the man told her he knew someone who could get them cheaper, Khala claimed.
"She did that and got them handed to her Wednesday morning before she left. She just put them straight into her suitcase," Khala said.
Her family claims she had no idea the drugs were concealed in the headphones, and say she is now facing up to 25 years in jail for a crime "she did not commit".
On Tuesday, Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Triana told Colombia's W Radio station that Ms Sainsbury's claim that she was deceived was probably untrue, and in any case it did not excuse her actions.
"Everyone who is caught says exactly the same thing," he said. He claimed many foreigners were lured by promises of fast fortunes. "But they know what they're doing," he said.
Meantime, a fundraising page Ms Sainsbury's family set up to help pay for her legal costs has been shut down after raising just over a quarter of its target.
Khala had set up the FundRazr page with the aim of raising $15,000, but the page was soon flooded with negative comments by people who doubted her story and questioned why they should contribute.
The account has since been closed after receiving just $4232 in donations from 105 people - well short of the $15,000 they hoped to collect to help cover legal bills.
After initially speaking out about Ms Sainsbury's case, her family is now keeping quiet on legal advice.
Ms Sainsbury and Mr Broadbridge's Facebook pages have also been closed.