Cassie Sainsbury’s tale about a mystery man selling the 22-year-old almost 6kg of cocaine could prove to be true according to fresh claims.
The accused drug smuggler has long said that a Colombian male named ‘Angelo’ supplied her with the drugs that have seen her battling the courts for six months now.
But with no credible evidence to suggest such a person exists, Sainsbury’s lawyer Orlando Herran has so far not been able to prove her innocence.
That is, until the AFP began looking into the anonymous man, as confirmed by a statement it released on Sunday.
Cassie Sainsbury pictured arriving in Bogota Special Circuit Court on Saturday for a hearing closed to the media
‘The prosecutor is sure that this person is real, is a Colombian person and is in the country at this time,’ Mr Herran told Seven News.
The AFP reiterated it was liaising with Colombian authorities on the matter but wouldn’t comment further on operational matters.
Earlier this week the Colombian judge presiding over Sainsbury’s fate is believed to have accepted a plea deal of six years, but good behaviour and time served could see that sentence dramatically reduced.
If the deal is realised, and Sainsbury is granted good behaviour, the 22-year-old could be released in 24 months.
But if time served is considered that will reduce the sentence again by a further six months – giving the South Australian local her freedom by 2019.
Accused drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury (pictured) arrived at a Colombian court on Saturday
Cassie Sainsbury was arrested in April when narcotics police found cocaine in her luggage, hidden in headphone packets
Her family in Adelaide is thrilled by the news, with her sister Khala Sainsbury saying: ‘It couldn’t have gone any better. I believe she’ll be okay, she’s strong.’
Previously it was reported that the 22-year-old was offered a six-year deal at a pre-trial hearing at Bogota court.
The newly-appointed judge was considering the deal made between the prosecution and Sainsbury’s lawyers, The Herald Sun reported on Friday.
The judge hearing the case earlier granted a request from Mr Herran to close the hearing to all media.
Resembling the first plea bargain – rejected after Sainsbury repeatedly changed her story – the six-year deal was presented on Friday in the Bogota Special Circuit Court.
The sentencing hearing will take place on November 1, but a source within the court said the judge has given it his approval.
The 22-year-old is accused of attempting to smuggle almost 6kg of cocaine into Australia and faces up to 30 years behind bars if found guilty of drug trafficking.
If Sainsbury’s (pictured) drug trafficking case had been adjourned until next month she could have been set free due to Colombian law limiting court cases for those in custody to 90 days
The 22-year-old (seen here being escorted to court in August) is accused of attempting to smuggle almost 6kg of cocaine into Australia and faces up to 30 years behind bars if found guilty of drug trafficking
Prosecutors had a number of options, including a new plea deal, but if they had pushed for an adjournment of her case she could have been freed.
According to Colombian law, a person must be released from jail under the statute of limitations if their case is not finalised in the courts within a certain period of time – in this case 90 days.
They are then ‘paroled’, with an assessment carried out on whether there is enough merit in the case to bring it before trial.
Sainsbury’s drawn-out case has been before the courts for 70 days already, based on her plea hearing on August 10.
Prosecutors pushed for an adjournment of her case but such a move could have been her ticket to freedom
According to Colombian law, a person must be released from jail under the statute of limitations if their case is not finalised in the courts within a certain time – in this case 90 days (pictured is Cassie in Colombian prison)
That meant the former personal trainer from Adelaide had a chance of release from El Buen Pastor prison before Christmas, after spending over six months locked up.
Sainsbury was arrested in April after she was caught with 5.6 kilograms of cocaine at Bogota Airport, hidden inside 18 separate packages of headphones.
She initially told prosecutors she had no idea the headphones were filled with cocaine, but later said she had been blackmailed by an international drug syndicate.
In a tell-all interview with 60 Minutes earlier this year she claimed the drug ring had sent her WhatsApp images and texts of her family – saying her loved ones would be killed if she failed to obey their orders.
But in a sensational twist, Sainsbury said she could not access the evidence to potentially clear her name, as she had forgotten the password to her phone.
Sainsbury was arrested in April after she was caught with 5.6 kilograms of cocaine at Bogota Airport, hidden inside 18 separate packages of headphones
She initially told prosecutors she had no idea the headphones were filled with cocaine, but later said she had been blackmailed by an international drug syndicate