The devastated daughter of an Australian woman facing the death penalty after allegedly smuggling drugs into Taiwan has shared a heartbreaking letter her mother sent her from prison, as she raises funds to visit her overseas.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57, from Melbourne, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December after 7kg of cocaine and heroin were allegedly found in black plastic bags inside her suitcase.
Taiwanese police say she initially “vehemently denied” knowing about the drugs, before later claiming her ex-husband John was behind the scheme.
However, Mr Voulgaris previously told Daily Mail Australia that he and Ms Voulgaris were “innocent” and had “been set up”.
If convicted under the East Asian island’s strict laws, she could face firing squad or life in prison.
Now the couple’s daughter Maria has shared a handwritten letter her mother sent to her “angel” children urging them to be strong as she awaits her fate.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December after drugs were allegedly found in black plastic bags inside her suitcase.
Her daughter Maria (pictured) has shared a letter her mother sent her from prison.
“Agapoules Mou! (from the Greek for “my loves”),” the letter begins.
‘I read all your letters.
“I can’t reply to you yet until some restrictions are lifted. I miss you so much.”
Ms Voulgaris said her mind “never leaves” her children and “I love them with all my heart and soul”.
‘Please take care of yourselves, eat well, don’t stress about anything. Everything will be okay. I need you to stick together like you do.
“I will always love you all. You are my whole world. I am so proud of all of you.”
Sharing the letter online, Maria said she never imagined how much comfort it would bring her to see someone’s handwriting and described the note as “a mother’s love expressed through foreign walls.”
“If only we knew that our love of literature and leaving each other letters would one day become our only way of survival,” he said.
The letter comes as Maria is mobilizing to raise funds to help her travel to Taiwan to reunite with her mother.
Pictured: The letter Mrs Voulgaris sent to her children, urging them to be strong.
The young woman said her mother, who has been in prison for seven months, has been placed under a strict communication ban and the only people she has been allowed to speak to are her lawyers, fellow inmates and Australian diplomats.
She has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her and her siblings’ airfare.accommodation and “other necessary costs” so they can travel to Taiwan for Ms. Voulgaris’ trial in August.
“I have no recollection of what my mother looked like or how she spoke, other than the little to no content I have to remember her by,” she wrote in the fundraiser.
‘I hope to raise funds to cover travel expenses to finally visit her for the first time.
“This will be my first time traveling abroad and it will be to visit my mother in a foreign prison.”
The fundraising campaign has so far raised more than $3,000 of the $5,000 goal since it was launched on Tuesday.
In an Instagram post, Maria said she was left “speechless” by the response.
“I woke up this morning completely crying,” she said.
“I know if my mom could see this right now, she would feel at peace knowing how many people are helping us come together and how many sisters are speaking out.”
In May, John Voulgaris, who runs a mortgage lending company, said he and his ex-wife were scammed by criminals posing as foreign investors.
Her ex-husband John Voulgaris says his wife was “duped” by traffickers
Authorities allegedly discovered 7kg of cocaine and heroin inside his luggage (pictured)
He said he first met the group 16 years ago and had even attended a bank with them in Taiwan in 2007 as part of his business procedures.
Over the years, they remained in touch. However, she said her lawyer recently got in touch with a new proposal.
“All we were doing was investing overseas,” he said.
‘They wanted to invest. I sent $3 million of my money. When I heard (about his arrest), I tried to contact them, but they turned off their phones.
“She is completely innocent. We have been framed.
“We know nothing about blood drugs and have never seen or touched them in our lives.”
Taiwanese police say Ms Voulgaris was given the Schedule 1 drugs in Malaysia around December 10 before flying to Taiwan.
They also claim the Australian mother was paid US$1,800 (A$2,700) to take the drugs, in addition to her accommodation and transport expenses.
The drugs had a street value of about $1.25 million, according to Chen Po-chuan, captain of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Brigade.
Ms Voulgaris’ lawyer, Leon Huang, told media in May that the Australian mother told authorities she was in Taiwan on holiday.
He said officers had been sent to his hotel to see if anyone was coming to pick up the drugs, but no one had arrived.
Mr Huang said Ms Voulgaris was a “good-natured person” who “easily believed people” and was “unaware of the nature of her travels”.
Ms Voulgaris has been detained in a Taiwanese prison since her arrest.