‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury reveals ‘secret’ she kept for four years after drug dealer arrest

‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury has revealed a huge ‘secret’ she has been hiding for the past four years after she was arrested at a Colombian airport.

The then 22-year-old was arrested in 2017 at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota with 5.8 kg of cocaine contained in 18 headphones.

The 29-year-old SAS Australia star lives in Adelaide and announced to her Instagram followers on Thursday that she is releasing a memoir about her experiences in prison.

Cassie shared a video of herself playing Empire Of The Sun’s song Walking On A Dream as she revealed the surprising news.

She sat on a chair at home, turning back and forth without saying a word, an excited smile on her face.

She suddenly stopped and frowned as she pretended to see something in the background of her video, showing her fans the cover of her upcoming book.

“I’ve been keeping a secret from you all… and I’m finally ready to share it,” she captioned the short clip.

‘It took me 4 years to write this and share my experiences in a very dark world.

29-year-old ‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury (pictured) has revealed a huge ‘secret’ she has been hiding for the past four years after she was arrested at a Colombian airport.

“This trip was a way to deal with my traumas and make peace with some unimaginable things.”

Cassie then referenced her appearance on the reality TV show SAS Australia, for which she received a six-figure salary the year before.

“A year ago I attended a SAS Australia event, which gave me a little insight into who I am and what I’ve been through,” she said.

“Today I am here to tell you that this book gives you the chance to walk in my shoes as an inmate in one of the most notorious prisons in existence.”

The then 22-year-old was arrested in 2017 at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota with 5.8kg of cocaine contained in 18 pairs of headphones.

Cassie signed her book as ‘Cocaine Cassie’ and announced that her memoir will be released on October 15th of this year.

A listing on the website of the QBD bookstore provides insight into the contents of the book.

“The woman the world would later come to know as ‘Cocaine Cassie’ was at the center of an international media circus, surviving beatings, stabbings and rapes as her story played out in public, twisted by years of lies and exaggerations,” according to a preview of the book.

‘Now, in her own words, Cocaine Cassie puts the finishing touches on this raw and harrowing account of what it was really like. Bruised, battered and scarred, she tells how she was forced to become a drug courier.

“It’s a story of pain and loss of hope for a future. But it’s also a story of her rise to forgiveness and redemption — to creating a life where a woman’s past doesn’t define her future.

“I’m not ‘Cocaine Cassie’. I’m Cassie Sainsbury.”

The SAS Australia star, now 29 and living in Adelaide, announced to her Instagram followers on Thursday that she is releasing a memoir about her experiences in prison

“I’ve been keeping a secret from you all… and I’m finally ready to share it,” she captioned the short video of the announcement

‘Cocaine Cassie’ was given this nickname in the media after serving almost three years of her six-year sentence in Colombia’s notorious El Buen Pastor prison.

She was released from prison under a humanitarian decree issued during the Covid pandemic, which allowed 4,000 prisoners to be placed in home detention.

Cassie returned to Adelaide in August 2022.

Cassie revealed in an interview with Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie last year that she was regularly attacked in prison.

The memoir is titled Cocaine Cassie – Setting the Record Straight and will be released on October 15.

“I’ve been hit a lot. I’ve been punched a lot. I’ve been stabbed. I have two stab wounds on my arms where I was stabbed. I’ve been through a lot of things that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” she said.

It’s obvious I’m the gringa [a Spanish slur meaning a foreign woman] in a Spanish prison, it just attracts the attention of you know, rich white girl. I guess I’ll have to bully her until it is.’

Cassie has since returned to Australia and is still active on social media and also sells training programs.

In 2023, she appeared on the reality show SAS Australia, but left after the second episode.