Colombian police won't hunt Cassie Sainsbury's hotel 'mystery man'
Colombian police are being accused of ignoring key evidence in the case of accused Adelaide drug mule Cassandra Sainsbury.
Witnesses said the mystery man who allegedly tricked the 22-year-old into carrying almost 6kg of cocaine visited her Bogota hotel several times.
Images of the man, known only as Angelo, have been captured on security cameras in the hotel's reception where Ms Sainsbury stayed from April 3 to 11, but remain in the office, according to News Corp.
The hotel manager in Bogota said a well-dressed, dark-skinned Colombian man appeared to be Ms Sainsbury’s only visitor. The local was captured on camera at the reception desk asking to see the accused drug smuggler.
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A spokesman for Colombia's Attorney General confirmed police have not viewed the footage or contacted the hotel to investigate the mystery man, ignoring the only clue the accused has offered in her defence.
Hotelier Ingrid Hernandez confirmed to News Corp she still had the footage on the hotel's hard drive, but has not been contacted by police to view to only known images of the mystery man.
“I will not release the images until I have some kind of official order from the police,” she said.
The young woman reportedly told her Colombian lawyer she was tricked and believed she was given 18 pre-packed headphones she purchased as gifts, which reportedly carried the drugs, by a man she knew only by Angelo or Tom.
Ms Sainsbury's last-minute plane ticket from Australia to Bogota via London was purchased by an unknown Hong Kong national, which raised red flags by North American agencies, according to The Australian.
Ms Sainsbury's Australian lawyer Stephen Kenny is exploring the "full details of why she went to Colombia, how she got there and who paid for her ticket."
The attorney said an issue of "some significance" was the name of the cleaning company the woman was said to be working for at the time of her arrest, which is something under investigation.
Ms Sainsbury's fiance Scott Broadbridge addressed the media on Friday saying she did not knowingly attempt to smuggle the drugs.
"Cass is the delight of my life. I know that she is not involved in the drug trade.
"I know that she was not deliberately taking drugs or carrying drugs."
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Since April 12, Ms Sainsbury has remained in a Bogota prison, with lawyers suggesting she may need to plead guilty in order to get home to Australia without risking decades in a South American prison.
Should she decide to fight the charge it would take at least two years to have the matter heard and may lead to a 20-year sentence.
