Debbie Voulgaris: Ex-husband of mother-of-five accused of smuggling 7kg of cocaine and heroin into Taiwan breaks his silence

EXCLUSIVE

The ex-husband of an Australian mother-of-five accused of smuggling 7kg of cocaine and heroin into Taiwan has claimed the pair are innocent and were set up by drug traffickers.

Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December after the drugs were allegedly found in black plastic bags in her suitcase.

Taiwanese police claim she initially ‘vehemently denied’ her knowledge of the drugs, before later claiming her ex-husband John was behind the scheme.

Ms Voulgaris remains in custody in Taiwan and is not allowed to speak to Mr Voulgaris, who lives in Melbourne.

If convicted under the East Asian island’s strict laws, she could face a firing squad.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Mr Voulgaris angrily denounced the allegations.

“She’s fucking innocent!” he raged.

‘We are set up!

“We don’t know anything about damn drugs and we’ve never seen or touched them in our lives!”

Mr Voulgaris, who runs a home loans company, said he and his ex-wife were defrauded by criminals posing as foreign investors.

He said he first met the group 16 years ago and even visited a bank with them in Taiwan in 2007 as part of their business procedures.

They stayed in touch over the years. However, he said their lawyer recently came in contact with a new proposal.

“All we did was a foreign investment,” he said.

‘They wanted to invest. I sent $3 million of my money…

‘When I found out [about her arrest]I tried to contact them but they turned off their phones.

“She didn’t do anything wrong!”

Speaking with the ABC this week, Ms Voulgaris’ lawyer, Leon Huang, said it was “essential” that her ex took the stand as he was the only person who could corroborate her claims.

Taiwanese police allege that Ms Voulgaris was given the Category 1 drugs in Malaysia around December 10 before flying to Taiwan.

They further claim that the Australian mother was paid US$1,800 (AUD$2,700) to take the drugs, in addition to her accommodation and transport costs.

According to Chen Po-chuan, captain of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Brigade, the drugs had a street value of about $1.25 million.

Mr Po-chaun said Ms Voulgaris told authorities she was on holiday in Taiwan.

He said Officers had been sent to her hotel to see if anyone had come to collect the drugs, but no one had arrived.

Ms Voulgaris has been held in a Taiwanese prison since her arrest.

Her lawyer Leon Huang said his client was a “good-natured person” who “easily believed people” and had been used as a drug mule.

“Based on her description … it appeared that Ms. Debbie Voulgaris was, first of all, unaware of the nature of her travels,” Mr. Huang said.

“And number two, she had no idea what was in and under her luggage because there is a hidden compartment and she was not aware of it.”

Mr Huang said that because his client had admitted guilt early on, while still insisting she knew nothing about the drugs, she could avoid the death penalty.

“When the court finds someone deserving of sympathy, like Debbie’s case, they generally don’t want to offer the option of the death penalty,” he said.

Taoyuan County prosecutors alleged that Ms. Voulgaris was part of a “drug trafficking syndicate,” according to documents submitted to a Taiwanese court.

“Although the defendant confessed to the crime during the preliminary court proceedings, it is noted that she previously vehemently denied the crime during the investigation and questioning by this court, and her statements are inconsistent,” the documents said.

“Specifically, the defendant alleged that the co-conspirator, John, who directed her to bring Category 1 narcotics to Taiwan, is her ex-husband, indicating a close relationship.

“The defendant and her attorney requested that John be called to testify during the preliminary proceedings, implying that there remains a risk of collusion with John before his testimony.”

Ms Voulgaris has not been visited by family members, but has been able to speak to her legal team and officials from the Australian office in Taipei.

An application for her release was rejected in March, with judges Cai Yirong and Hou Jingyun ruling there was substantial evidence she posed a flight risk.

Her lawyers had argued that their client had not spoken to family in three months, had difficulty adjusting to Chinese food and could not speak Chinese.

However, the judges ruled that these were ‘not factors to be taken into account in determining the need for detention’.

‘It is noted that the suspect’s daughter is aware of John’s contact details, therefore it cannot be ruled out that the suspect could use her daughter to contact John, with this request [for contact] unaffordable,” they said.

Ms Voulgaris will next appear in court in August. If found guilty, she could face the death penalty or life imprisonment, or a minimum of five years behind bars.

However, she is unlikely to receive the death penalty after Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled last August that imposing a life sentence or death penalty for drug crimes is partly unconstitutional.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said a detained Australian woman in Taiwan was receiving consular assistance.

A petition on change.org for Voulgaris’ release has attracted 3,000 signatures.

“Anyone who knows or has met her understands the pure, kind heart she has,” the petition’s author wrote.

‘She is the mother of five children and risks the death penalty or life imprisonment. Please sign the petition to help secure the freedom of an innocent, pure mother.”