Sea Princess Passengers Plead Guilty Smuggling 95 kilograms Cocaine

On Sunday, August 28, 2016, three cruise ship passengers were arrested when Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess docked in Sydney, Australia (see video below) after police and sniffer dogs searching the cruise ship found smuggled cocaine inside two cruise ship cabins.

Three passengers from Quebec, Canada Andre Tamine, 63, Isabelle Lagace, 28, and Melina Roberce, 22, who is a manager at Pandora Store Downtown Montreal, were charged with importing 95 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value of about $31 million.

Isabelle Lagace, well-known as a Canadian porn star, pleaded guilty to her role in the smuggling, telling the New South Wales District Court she had agreed to transport some of the cocaine to clear a $20,000 debt. She was sentenced last year to at least four years and six months behind bars for transporting 30 kilograms of the substance, with a maximum of seven years and six months. She will be eligible for parole in 2021.

Roberge and Tamine  maintained their innocence. The pair were due to stand trial at the District Court this month, however in recent court appearances both changed their pleas to guilty.