Canadian Woman Pleads Guilty to Importing Cocaine on Princess Cruise Ship (US$31 million)

   December 18, 2016 ,   Accidents

A Canadian woman pleaded guilty to her involvement in importing 95 kg of cocaine into Australia while holidaying on the Sea Princess cruise ship.

Isabelle Lagace on Friday, December 16, pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of cocaine. She was one of 3 people arrested over the drugs, which had a street value of $31 million, in August.

The 28-year-old was detained by Australian Federal Police, alongside her traveling companion Melina Roberce and 64-year-old Andre Tamine when the cruise ship docked in Sydney Harbour.

The stash was allegedly found in locked suitcases during a search of two passenger cabins, in what was the largest drug bust of its kind on board a cruise ship.The 28-year-old was detained by Australian Federal Police, alongside her travelling companion Melina Roberce and 64-year-old Andre Tamine when the cruise ship docked in Sydney Harbour.

The stash was allegedly found in locked suitcases during a search of two passenger cabins, in what was the largest drug bust of its kind on board a cruise ship.

All three were charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug which carries a maximum life imprisonment.

Ms Roberce and Lagace documented their trip on board the Sea Princess, making more than two dozen posts on social media. They shared photos sunbaking on the cruise ship deck, standing in New York's Time Square, and of tropical waters off Bermuda.

There are also pictures of them with local children in Peru, in colorful cobblestone laneways in Chile, walking the streets of Colombia, drinking from coconuts in Tahiti and getting tattoos in French Polynesia.

But on day 51 – when the 68-day cruise berthed in Sydney on the way to its final destination in Fremantle – the Australian Federal Police were waiting.

The Australian Border Force said the three passengers were allegedly working with a "very well-organized syndicate".

Lagace will be sentenced in February while Ms Roberce is due to appear in court again on Wednesday.

Mr Tamine has been committed to stand in the NSW District Court next year.