Sea Princess Cocaine Bust in Sydney Harbor

[avcruz]

After reading an article by the CBC, it sounds like they might have been under surveillance for a while. Part of a known syndicate.

[Thrak]

Did you see a picture of the (2) girls involved? they are absolutely stunning!!! i can see how the crew on the gangway could turn a blind eye to these supermodels.. check out their Instagram accounts...they documented the entire 2 months on the cruise...they hashtaged photos with the term bucket list on them..i bet they never thought that US intelligence could catch up to them...i really think someone (their friends) tipped off authorities after seeing the pics of these two girls parading around in barely there bikinis and making the average honest hard working person a bit jealous..

 

#Karmaisab**ch

 

After reading your post I found THIS but I haven't seen any other photos. Of course I don't do Instagram so...

Edited August 30, 2016 by Thrak

[Aus Traveller]

What's your basis that anyone knew about the drugs prior to the drug sniffing dogs finding them in Austrailia?

 

I'd be happy to read a news article.

Earlier in this thread I posted links to news articles. I believe that Brisbane41 was correct in saying that the authorities knew about these drugs before the ship docked in Sydney. The news reports all say that Australian police and sniffer dogs came on board and found the drugs. I have done 50+ cruises and have never seen police and dogs board the ship. If it was not known that drugs were on board, are you suggesting that the police officers and dogs searched the whole ship on the off-chance there were drugs? How long would that take? Why would they do it on this particular cruise and not on any other?

 

It seems logical to me (and to Brisbane41) that there had been a tip-off prior to the ship arriving in Sydney.

 

The comment was made that Princess would not have left the drugs on the ship while it called at intervening ports. Just consider. Australia would be a large market for drugs unfortunately. Apparently cocaine in Australia sells for five times the price it does in Canada. We do not know where the drugs were sourced, but it could have been South America. After that, the ship called at Papeete, Moorea and Raiatea in French Polynesia and in Auckland. Australia would be a much bigger market where the syndicate could sell that enormous quantity of drugs.

 

I do not know, and we will probably never know, how long Princess was aware of the drugs.

 

I would not like to be in charge of security on the ship. There might be questions asked how the drugs got past the security screening. I do not know how security would react if they detected a large number of identically shaped packages in someone's carry bag after a port day, or if they suspected a passenger had packages strapped to their body. To me it is unlikely they would let them let the items through without asking what they were. With 97kg involved, it would take at least two trips ashore by three people to bring that amount of drugs back onto the ship. The two young women involved would be memorable to the security staff, so if they carried these packages back on board two or three times, I think it would have been noticed. I hope that when this comes to Court, we will hear how they got the drugs on board. On the other hand, the authorities might prefer to keep that confidential.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[Brisbane41]

So, it's just your word that these things happened.

 

Might be completely true. But, in general posts on cruise critic

are highly suspect for validity.

 

Personally, I think it's pretty unlikely that princess knew about

the drugs, and allowed the ship to continue to call an some number

of intervening ports, before arriving in austrailia.

 

How would they prevent the smugglers from taking drugs into these

countries during port calls? That would not really endure princess

to the local authorities.

 

How would they prevent the smugglers from tossing the drugs over

board?

 

I am trained in ships security and know there are standard procedures for this sort of thing. Security would have known all about it and kept a close eye on them. Hence as explained in other posts the police knew exactly where to deploy the sniffer dogs before they had a chance to step ashore.

 

It would be part of the Princess security procedure to allow on and play dumb in regards to drugs being brought on board that are a commercial quantity and to report to law enforcement. Princess security do not have the same powers that a police force has in relation to making an arrest.

 

If people were taking small quantities of drugs on for personal use Princess security would be all over them and they would be disembarked. This required intervention from law enforcement.

[mark jonhson mjj]

Maybe they had some on board help. Brought in on a delivery truck with other supplies and a crew member knew what to look for. Drug cartels find all kinds of clever ways to hide the drugs to smuggle. We'll find out more when everyone gets arrested. Watch for crew members disappearing.:eek:

 

Funny but one of the girl had on her facebook a friend and it said sea princess cruise member or manager and now the friend doesnt show up anymore!

[Shmoo here]

After reading your post I found THIS but I haven't seen any other photos. Of course I don't do Instagram so...

 

I saw this on Yahoo:

http://mashable.com/2016/08/31/instagram-holiday-women-canadian/#ha6ARsZn_GqQ

[elliair]

Funny but one of the girl had on her facebook a friend and it said sea princess cruise member or manager and now the friend doesnt show up anymore!

 

Maybe they have that "friend" in custody too. We'll find out more - hopefully. I'd like to see a pic of the man involved. One of the girls worked for Pandora Jewelry store in Canada. I wonder how someone like her can afford a 2-month cruise like that? Cocaine.

[sfaaa]

Should have listened to Eric Clapton when he sang:

 

Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back, cocaine

She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, dirty cocaine.

[BeagleOne]

Well, I hope they enjoyed their cruise, because they won't be cruising anywhere in the near future. Lots of interesting comments on an Instagram account for one of the women.

[BeagleOne]

Oh dear, one of the captions she wrote on an Instagram pic said how she used to be afraid to get out of her little home town and didn't want to see that little town anymore because it's so beautiful out there and soooo worth it to get out of your comfort zone.

Edited August 31, 2016 by BeagleOne

[Aus Traveller]

Oh dear, one of the captions she wrote on an Instagram pic said how she used to be afraid to get out of her little home town and didn't want to see that little town anymore because it's so beautiful out there and soooo worth it to get out of your comfort zone.

She will certainly be out of her comfort zone in prison, even though an Australian prison isn't as bad as in some other countries.:)

[nanabananna]

There's only one response to this GOOD!!!!!

Tony

 

I agree with you Tony. Glad they got caught. :)

[elliair]

This is interesting and they knew about them ahead of time!

 

"It is an international syndicate … I can't go into specifics about the background of this particular syndicate, but you have to be a very organised … to get your hands on 95 kilograms of cocaine," he said.

"Sydney is highly attractive for cruise ships ... so we're continually risk assessing the cruise ships and the passengers that come by air.

 

Lots more at the link:

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-29/three-canadians-charged-after-cocaine-found-on-cruise-ship/7793740

Edited September 1, 2016 by elliair

[dasmonkey]

Apparently one of them was clairvoyant. ;)

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/sMdomsTFtd/

[Aus Traveller]

Here is a link to another newspaper article with photos.

 

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nsw/instagram-posts-document-melina-roberge-and-isabelle-lagaces-world-tour-before-drug-bust-20160831-gr5pf2.html

 

There are a couple of errors: The cruise ended in Sydney. The following cruise is now going Sydney-Fremantle. The arrested people were on a 66-night segment of the WC from Sydney to Sydney. The media refers to it as a 66 night cruise, not as part of the 104 night world cruise.

[Alaskan Joe]

:rolleyes: Note to myself..........Do not bring cocaine on my Holiday cruise on the Ruby.

[elliair]

Apparently one of them was clairvoyant. ;)

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/sMdomsTFtd/

 

Yes and this comment is quite laughable, because I doubt she'll be seeing her little town for years and years to come. Prophetic?

 

"I used to be afraid to get out of my little town and now I feel like I don't want to see that little town anymore cause it's beautiful out there and it's sooo worth it."

[ednmargo]

209 pounds of cocaine in only 3 people's suitcases-that's a heck of a lot of cocaine- they must have looked very suspicious- with such heavy bags

 

LOL I think a 63 yo dude with two 20 yos would look way more suspicious. Just sayin.

[Aus Traveller]

209 pounds of cocaine in only 3 people's suitcases-that's a heck of a lot of cocaine- they must have looked very suspicious- with such heavy bags

If they boarded in Dover with the drugs, they could easily have had two suitcases each. Not unusual for a long cruise. There is also the possibility that the drugs were obtained during the cruise - maybe in South America. They could have taken empty bags on with them in Dover, or got them on the way. It is not unusual to see people buy an extra bag during a long cruise.

[Pipo]

Australian authorities say that they have noticed an increase of cocaine in the streets. Definitely the three smugglers were allowed to continue to Australia, in order to learn how cocaine is getting there.

 

For me, they had to have help from a (or some) crew members during their stops in South America. It's impossible to smuggle such volumes alone or undetected. Cocaine in Australia costs 500% more than in Canada, that's a lot of money involved. With a no-life-threatening-situation on board, and a hefty bribe (maybe on the tens of thousands), it was a tempting deal for somebody.

[GalCruzer]

This sounds like an Episode for Locked Up Abroad.

 

Unbelievable that people would do this though.

[Aus Traveller]

Australian authorities say that they have noticed an increase of cocaine in the streets. Definitely the three smugglers were allowed to continue to Australia, in order to learn how cocaine is getting there.

 

For me, they had to have help from a (or some) crew members during their stops in South America. It's impossible to smuggle such volumes alone or undetected. Cocaine in Australia costs 500% more than in Canada, that's a lot of money involved. With a no-life-threatening-situation on board, and a hefty bribe (maybe on the tens of thousands), it was a tempting deal for somebody.

There are very few cruises that travel from South America to Australia so I don't think the cruise-ship method of bringing the drugs in is a regular route. I suggest they let the drugs continue to Australia so the offenders could be arrested by police. Security officers on ships have limited powers: if the offenders were confronted on board before arrival in Sydney, they would have to be confined to their cabin with guards. This is quite an imposition on the security team on board. It would be known that the cruise tickets of the alleged drug couriers showed that they were due to disembark in Sydney. When the ship is tied up, it is in Australia, so the charge could refer to importing drugs.

 

I would not like to assume that crew were bribed or involved in any way. I can see that if the drugs were brought on board enroute, maybe these alleged couriers made a few trips ashore and each time came back with packages strapped to their bodies. If they brought 10kg each time, each person would only have to go ashore three times. The ship spent two days in Callao so it would not be suspicious.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[Lucky TGO]

Here a question how long will it be before the two girls start talking and tell the police everything? Who helped get the drugs on the ship and how was it done.

When they see how long they're go to jail. They will start talking. That my guess.

Tony

[GUT2407]

There are very few cruises that travel from South America to Australia so I don't think the cruise-ship method of bringing the drugs in is a regular route. I suggest they let the drugs continue to Australia so the offenders could be arrested by police. Security officers on ships have limited powers: if the offenders were confronted on board before arrival in Sydney, they would have to be confined to their cabin with guards. This is quite an imposition on the security team on board. It would be known that the cruise tickets of the alleged drug couriers showed that they were due to disembark in Sydney. When the ship is tied up, it is in Australia, so the charge could refer to importing drugs.

 

I would not like to assume that crew were bribed or involved in any way. I can see that if the drugs were brought on board enroute, maybe these alleged couriers made a few trips ashore and each time came back with packages strapped to their bodies. If they brought 10kg each time, each person would only have to go ashore three times. The ship spent two days in Callao so it would not be suspicious.

 

But we're they getting off in Sydney, reports keep saying they were on a cruise from England to Fremantle (which is where she was off to after Sydney) I suspect there was a rendezvous planned with the bags being dropped either at an intermediate port, or maybe to a boat over the side.

[Aus Traveller]

But we're they getting off in Sydney, reports keep saying they were on a cruise from England to Fremantle (which is where she was off to after Sydney) I suspect there was a rendezvous planned with the bags being dropped either at an intermediate port, or maybe to a boat over the side.

You could be right. The news stories keep talking about Fremantle and that the people were on a 66 day cruise. The Sea P was in Dover on 9th July and is due in Fremantle on 14th Sept. That looks like 66 days. :) They could easily have planned to walk the drugs ashore in Brisbane (Tuesday 30th August).