'My worst nightmare': What prison was really like for 'Cocaine Cassie'
When South Australian woman Cassie Sainsbury was caught trying to smuggle six kilograms of cocaine out of South America in 2017, the story sparked an international media circus.
Despite "Cocaine Cassie's" desperate pleas of innocence, Colombian authorities weren't buying it and she was sentenced to six years in El Buen Pastor women's prison, one of the country's hardest penal facilities.
But in 2020, Cassie was released early due to over-crowding concerns at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subscribe to the Today newsletter here. Nine
Cassie told Today she is only now getting back on her feet. Today
READ MORE: First look at biopic behind the 'fifth Beatle'
The now 29-year-old has penned a tell-all memoir detailing her time behind bars and she told Today it's only recently, she's managed to get back on her feet.
"It's definitely taken a long time to be able to adjust back to everyday life and take everything on board, the criticism, self-reflection that I had over those years as well, but I'm definitely moving forward," she said.
Cassie revealed during her time in the prison, she was attacked and violated and it was the most traumatic thing she's ever experienced, but she's determined not to let it control the rest of her life.
"It was my worst nightmare, probably times by about 100, I never knew what was waiting for me the next day," she said.
"In prison, you learn to live literally either one hour at a time or one day at a time and you just try and get through it the best you can."
Cassie Sainsbury had been facing up to 30 years inside the Colombia prison. Colombia Police
READ MORE: Why this woman free dives with sharks
In her book, Cassie shares details on how she says she was manipulated into becoming a drug mule by another woman who took advantage of her struggles with her sexuality.
"I met someone who basically knew that I was in a very vulnerable state and she basically used my vulnerability of being in the closet to get me to be in love with her and just want to do anything to please her," she said.
Cassie said proceeds from her memoir, Cocaine Cassie: Setting The Record Straight will go to charities Kickstart for Kids, Life Without Barriers and MumKind, to help other vulnerable people who are taken advantage of.
Hear Cassie's full chat with Today in the video above
We’d love to hear from you
