‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury spills shock new details about her hell in notorious women’s prison

Australian convicted drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury has given a startling insight into life in Colombia’s infamous women’s prison.

During her first night in a Colombian prison, the then 22-year-old South Australian suffered a shocking seizure.

“The first night you’re basically put in one cell-like shed room with prisoners who have been there for a while,” she told NCA NewsWire in a wide-ranging interview this week.

“And she had a bit of a gang, this girl, and they were stealing stuff from people who were just coming in and it was very frustrating because I didn’t really have anything to get stolen anyway. And I was abused by a girl.’

It was a horrible start to what would take almost three years to survive at Bogota’s infamous El Buen Pastor.

Sainsbury was arrested in 2017 when he smuggled 5.8kg of cocaine at Bogota International Airport on a flight to Australia.

She became a media sensation and was nicknamed “Cocaine Cassie,” and the now 29-year-old has written a memoir detailing her side of a terrible story.

“I stayed on the good side of the guards,” she said when asked how she got through prison life day after day,” Sainsbury recalled.

‘I was a bit misunderstood by my prisoners in that sense, because I never argued with the guards.

‘I’ve never caused any trouble and you know, if they searched and found banned items like phones and things like that, it would be the end of the world and I’d just say, ‘Well, what do you expect, we’re allowed to have them don’t have. It’s their job.”

But the specter of violence overshadowed everything, she said.

In one instance, Sainsbury said she kicked and screamed to fend off a male security guard who was trying to sexually assault her.

“I was screaming,” she said.

“Then the other guard, who was actually watching the door, did nothing until she finally realized he wasn’t going to get anywhere.”

One of the head guards, a brutal lieutenant, “enjoyed hitting women,” she said.

‘By that time he had already beaten me twice. Fists, kicks,” said Sainsbury.

“There was a lot of violence from this lieutenant.”

“I tried to report him while I was there, but the paperwork got lost.”

Life was hard in many other ways. The food was “disgusting,” she said, and the lack of nutrition made her sick.

“We received so much spoiled and moldy food that the kitchen was closed many times,” Sainsbury said.

“There were worms in it, insects in it. There would be hairs. The other prisoners serving the food used their hands to serve it.

‘I had a lot of trouble eating, to the point where I became very ill.

“There was a store in the prison and they sold crackers and things like that that would give you enough to survive, and you could choose what you would eat from the food we were given.

‘They were also very small portions. It was to give you energy for what you needed, and that was it.”

Sainsbury said it is unlikely she will ever receive justice for the abuses committed against her at El Buen Pastor, which is run by Colombian prison organization INPEC.

“When I first got paroled, it was something I wanted to look at and actually do something with. I did start working at a law firm (Colombian lawyer),” she said.

‘We went to INPEC, which runs the prison system.

“And they basically just said, ‘Inmates have no rights. There are no rights. You’re a nobody. You go in there, no freedom’.

“(But) you still have basic dignity as a human being in prison.

‘To have simple little things that will protect you and keep you safe. Even though you committed the crime, it doesn’t mean you have to go through those things.

‘It just never got any further. There is so much corruption in it. They are, as it were, protecting their own country.’

Sainsbury was sentenced to six years in prison and then released in 2020 after serving two years, eleven months and 21 days.

She then spent 27 months on probation in Colombia.

Drug traffickers and wealthy Westerners who roll up dollar bills to snort cocaine from Sydney to London are responsible for the wave of violence sweeping through Mexico and Latin America.

Judges, politicians, journalists and tens of thousands of innocent people are murdered year in and year out because of the drug trade, and Sainsbury said she felt “self-disgust” at her role in fueling this violence.

To make up for it, she said proceeds from the book would go to three charities: Life Without Barriers, MumKind and Kickstart for Kids.

“Sales from this book will go to charity,” she said.

‘One of them is Life Without Barriers, which has a very good rehabilitation programme.

“I’m constantly trying to give back where I can.”

Her story is about redemption and second chances, she said.

“For me, the book was about providing answers and explanations,” she said.

‘Finally I have the chance to say something and I really hope that the book sheds light on the complex reality of what crime is, what life in prison is actually about and what you can experience.

“I hope everyone who reads it can discover how easy it can be to be manipulated and go down a very destructive path.

‘Hopefully encourage others to make better choices and, above all, to see the humanity in those who have made mistakes.’

Sainsbury now lives in Adelaide with her Colombian partner Tatiana, who she calls her ‘anchor through it all’.

“I was portrayed as such a nasty, horrible person and I just wanted to give people insight into how it actually unfolded and how I got there,” she said.

“I’m sorry, but at no time was it intentional.”

Mrs Sainsbury said she had ‘no relationship’ with her mother but had reconciled with her sister.

“Her and my cousins ​​are basically my family now,” she said.

“That’s where I spend all my time.”

Her memoir is Cocaine Cassie: Setting the Record Straight, published by New Holland Publishers.