‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury has revealed a big ‘secret’ she kept quiet for the past four years following her arrest at a Colombian airport.
The 22-year-old was arrested at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport in 2017 with 5.8kg of cocaine stuffed inside 18 pairs of boxed headphones.
The SAS Australia star, now 29 and living in Adelaide, announced to his Instagram followers on Thursday that he would be publishing a memoir about his experience in prison.
Cassie shared a video of herself with Empire Of The Sun’s song Walking On A Dream playing as she revealed the surprise news.
Sitting in a chair in her home, she spun back and forth without saying a word while wearing an excited smile.
She then suddenly stopped 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 took me 4 years to write this and agree to share my experiences in a very dark world.
‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury, 29 (pictured), has revealed a big ‘secret’ she kept quiet for the past four years following her arrest at a Colombian airport.
“This trip was a way to deal with my traumas and be at peace with some pretty unimaginable things.”
Cassie went on to reference her appearance on the reality show SAS Australia, for which she received a six-figure salary, the previous year.
“A year ago I participated in an SAS Australia that allowed me to show them a small sample of who I am and what I went through,” he said.
‘I’m here today to tell you that this book will allow you to put yourself in my shoes as a prisoner in one of the most notorious prisons in existence.’
The 22-year-old was arrested at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport in 2017 with 5.8kg of cocaine stuffed inside 18 pairs of boxed headphones.
Cassie signed herself with her nickname ‘Cocaine Cassie’ and revealed that her memoir will be published on October 15th this year.
A listing on the QBD bookstore website has revealed information about the book’s contents.
‘At the center of an international media circus, the woman the world would come to know as “Cocaine Cassie” survived beatings, stabbings and rape as her story played out in public, distorted by lies and exaggerations that played out over years,’ reads a forward to the book.
‘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 how she was forced to become a drug mule.
‘It’s a story of pain and loss of hope for the future. But it’s also a story of her rise to forgiveness and redemption, of her path to a life where a woman’s past doesn’t define her future.
“I’m not Cassie Cocaine. I’m Cassie Sainsbury.”
The SAS Australia star, now 29 and living in Adelaide, announced to his Instagram followers on Thursday that he would be publishing an autobiography about his experience in prison.
“I’ve been keeping a secret from you all… and I’m finally ready to share it,” she captioned the short announcement video.
‘Cocaine Cassie’ was given the nickname in media coverage while she was serving nearly three years of a six-year sentence at Colombia’s notorious El Buen Pastor prison.
She was released from prison during a humanitarian decree issued amid the Covid pandemic, which allowed 4,000 prisoners to be released and placed under house arrest.
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 be published on October 15.
“I got beaten up a lot. I got hit a lot. I got stabbed. I have two stab marks on my arms where I got stabbed. I went through a lot of things that I wouldn’t wish on anybody ever,” she said.
“Obviously, being a gringa (a Spanish insult referring to a foreign woman) in a Spanish prison attracts the attention of, you know, a rich white girl. I guess you have to intimidate her until that’s all.”
Now back in Australia, Cassie continues to maintain a social media presence and sells fitness programs.
In 2023, she appeared on the reality show SAS Australia, but left in the second episode.