‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury reveals ‘secret’ she has kept for four years following her drug smuggler arrest

‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury has revealed a huge ‘secret’ she kept quiet for the past four years after her arrest in a Colombian airport.  

The then-22-year-old was arrested at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota in 2017 with 5.8kg of cocaine inside 18 pairs of boxed headphones. 

Now 29 and living in Adelaide, the SAS Australia star announced to her Instagram followers on Thursday that she is releasing a memoir about her experience in prison.

Cassie shared a video of herself with Empire Of The Sun’s song Walking On A Dream playing when she revealed the surprise news. 

Sitting in a chair in her home, she swivelled back and forth without saying a word as she sported an excited smile. 

She then stopped suddenly and frowned as she pretended to notice something in the background of her video, revealing to fans the cover of her upcoming book.   

‘I’ve been keeping a secret from you all… and I’m finally ready to share it,’ she captioned the short clip.

‘It’s taken me 4 years to write this and to be okay with sharing my experiences in a very dark world. 

‘This journey was a way to deal with my traumas and to be at peace with some pretty unimaginable things.’

Cassie went on to reference her appearance on the reality TV show SAS Australia, for which she received a six-figure salary, the year before.  

‘A year ago, I participated in a SAS Australia which allowed me to show you a tiny glimpse of who I am and what I went through,’ she said.

‘Today I’m here to tell you that this book allows you to walk in my shoes as a prisoner in one of the most notorious prisons out there.’

The then-22-year-old was arrested at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota in 2017 with 5.8kgs of cocaine inside 18 pairs of boxed headphones

Cassie signed off with her moniker ‘Cocaine Cassie’ and revealed the memoir will release on October 15 this year. 

A listing on book retailer QBD’s website has revealed insight into the book’s contents.

‘At the centre of an international media circus, the woman who the world would come to know as “Cocaine Cassie” survived beatings, stabbings and rape while her story played out in public, distorted by lies and exaggerations that played out over years,’ a preview of the book reads.

‘Now, in her own words, Cocaine Cassie sets the record straight in this raw and harrowing account of what it was really like. Bruised, battered and scarred she tells of how she was forced into becoming a drug mule.

‘It is a story of pain and loss of hope for a future. But it is also a story of her rise to forgiveness and redemption – to creating a life where a woman’s past does not define her future.

‘I am not “Cocaine Cassie”. I am Cassie Sainsbury.’

Now 29 and living in Adelaide, the SAS Australia star announced to her Instagram followers on Thursday that she is releasing a memoir about her experience in prison

‘I’ve been keeping a secret from you all… and I’m finally ready to share it,’ she captioned the short video of the announcement

‘Cocaine Cassie’ was given the nickname in media coverage as she served nearly three years of a six-year sentence at the notorious Colombian El Buen Pastor prison. 

She was released from jail during a humanitarian decree issued amid the Covid pandemic, which allowed 4,000 prisoners to be released into at-home detention.

Cassie returned to Adelaide in August 2022.

Speaking to Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie last year, Cassie revealed she was frequently attacked while in prison.

The memoir is titled Cocaine Cassie – Setting the Record Straight and will release on October 15

‘I had a lot of beatings. I got beaten up a lot. I got stabbed. I got two stab marks on my arms where I was stabbed. I went through a lot of things that I wouldn’t wish on anyone ever,’ she said.

‘Obviously being the gringa [a Spanish slur meaning a foreign woman] in a Spanish prison, it just brings that attention of you know, rich white girl. Need to, I guess bully her down until that’s it.’

Now back in Australia, Cassie has continued to maintain a social media presence, and sells exercise programs.

In 2023, she appeared on reality TV show SAS Australia, but quit on the second episode.