Symbol copyright AUSTRALIAN BORDER PRESSURE Symbol caption Cocaine used to be found inside Denise Marie Woodrum’s sneakers and different items
A US girl who said she was once tricked by means of a faux internet suitor into smuggling medication into Australia has been jailed.
Denise Marie Woodrum, FIFTY ONE, used to be arrested at Sydney Airport closing yr after border officials found cocaine crammed inside of high heels and different property in her luggage.
In January, she pleaded to blame to the illegal import however instructed the courtroom she was once a sufferer of a web based romance scam.
A judge found she had willingly participated within the operation.
On Thursday, the new South Wales District Courtroom sentenced Woodrum, from Missouri, to a maximum of 7-and-a-half years in prison.
“I don’t accept that she is in actuality contrite for her offending as opposed to being sorry for the placement she now reveals herself caught in,” said Judge Penelope Wass, consistent with the Sydney Morning Herald.
Scam argument
Her legal professional, Rebecca Neil, had defined her client as a deeply spiritual and socially isolated lady who have been groomed via a person on-line, the newspaper stated.
That individual, who went by the identify Hendrik Cornelius, exploited Woodrum’s consider for financial gain, Ms Neil mentioned.
Woodrum had visited South The Usa sometime sooner than embarking at the shuttle to Australia with 756 grams of cocaine, the court docket heard.
She had advised government that she had no knowledge of the drugs and “it used to be imagined to be simply clothes”, the Australian Related Press reported.
However Pass Judgement On Wass mentioned she was not yes by means of Woodrum’s story, and mentioned the defendant had proven little regret for her “reckless actions”.
Woodrum will probably be eligible for parole after four-and-a-half years.
