Canadians Mélina Roberge, [photo], and Andre Tamine, attempted to sneak four suitcases of cocaine into Sydney in a plot cooked up with porn actress Isabelle LagacéThe French Canadian pair of Mélina Roberge and Andre Tamine, both from Quebec, changed their plea shortly before they were due to stand trial on drug importation charges.
Roberge, 24, and Tamine, 64, changed their pleas to guilty after their co-conspirator, adult entertainment actress Isabelle Lagacé entered a plea deal in November 2017, admitting to importing the drugs and was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison over the audacious plan in December.
Mélina Roberge who initially denied all knowledge of the drug run, was arrested on the Sea Princess with former porn star Isabelle Lagace, 29, and a third French Canadian, Andre Tamine, in 2016.
Mélina Roberge finally admitted to taking part in the drug plot with her porn star pal, and co-defendant, Isabelle Lagacé
At her trial, Isabelle Lagacé admitted taking the Schedule I drug on-board the $15,359 per-head MS Sea Princess, that set off from Britain.
She claimed she tried to smuggle the drug into Sydney, Australia after being given an ultimatum about clearing a $20,000 debt to an unnamed person.
Lagacé and Roberge had boarded the luxury cruise ship in Southampton in June, 2016 and had documented their journey across the US, South America and Pacific with dozens of bikini-clad Instagram posts.
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Tamine and Roberge reportedly, were expected to stand trial in February before they changed their plea, Friday.
When the ship docked in Sydney on the 51st day of the 68-day cruise, Australian Border Force officers found 30kg of cocaine stashed in a suitcase in their cabin.
Roberge in one of many bikini-clad Instagram photos from their ‘run’, but her lawyers tried to claim she was an innocent caught in a drug smuggling operation she knew nothing about
Isabelle Lagacé has been jailed for seven and a half years
The two women were arrested along with Tamine, a loner with no family and who lives in Montreal.
The court heard how Lagace took full responsibility for her actions saying: “I have embarrassed my family, my friends, myself.
“It pains me to know that my defining years of womanhood will be spent in prison halfway around the world.”
Isabelle Lagacé is reportedly a former porn star and model “Izabel”
The story of Lagacé, aka “Izabel”, in the adult entertainment industry unfolded after her arrest on drug smuggling charges
The women kept watch on a third of the stash of cocaine worth around $31 million, while travelling half way across the world
Legacé admitted she tried to smuggle 95kg of cocaine into Sydney
In another cabin Andre Tamine allegedly had up to 70kg in coke in three suitcases.
Four men who were part of the alleged drug operation were also on board as the cruise ship sailed towards Australia, the court heard.
Evidence given during a committal hearing for Roberge alleged she was a knowing participant in the attempt to import the cocaine into Australia in August 2016.
The Canadian pair of Roberge an Instagram vixen and her porn start pal, Legacé, both in their twenties were an integral part of this “floating warehouse” of drugs, Australian authorities said.
Fascinating details of a complex drug operation allegedly involving the two glamorous young Canadian women emerged in Sydney’s Central Local Court on Friday.
Isabelle Legacé, 29, and 24-year-old Melina Roberge were in Cabin 312 along with a suitcase holding nearly 30kg part of a total haul of 95kg, estimated to be worth $31m, it was alleged.
In another cabin on the vessel, the third and much older co-accused Andre Tamine, 64, allegedly was ‘minding’ up to 70kg in three suitcases in Australia’s biggest drug importation by passenger vessel. Four other men who were part of the alleged drug operation were also on board the cruise ship in cabins 706 and 715 as the ship sailed towards Australia, the court documents stated.
Magistrate Robert Williams committed Mr Tamine to stand trial on February 3, after he waived his right to have a committal hearing.
Mélina Roberge posted pictures of the cruise on social media
The pair’s adventures around the world were chronicled on Instagram
The pair of Roberge [left], and Legacé, [right], chronicled their fun filled intercontinental luxury cruise. They gave the impression they were having a great time
The MS Sea Princess cruised via Tahiti to Sydney carrying 95kg of cocaine
Last year Lagacé entered a plea of guilty to the charge of attempting to import a commercial quantity of cocaine and will be sentenced on the same date.
The prosecution had said that Lagacé, and her travelling companion, Mélina Roberge also from Quebec, boarded the cruise ship in Southampton, UK in June, after Legacé flew solo across the Atlantic.
Their apparently fun-filled odyssey across the United States, South America and Pacific was well documented on social media with dozens of Instagram posts and bikini-clad photos.
Their luck held until the ship docked in Sydney on the 51st day of the 68-day cruise, Australian Border Force officers found 30kg of cocaine stashed in a suitcase in her cabin, the court heard.
During her trial in Sydney, at the end of 2016, Lagacé admitted her role in the drug smuggling enterprise. In her elocution she told the court : “I have embarrassed my family, my friends, myself.
“It pains me to know that my defining years of womanhood will be spent in prison halfway around the world.”
Showing off: Mélina Roberge constantly posted images og her ‘bling’ life
Defense attorney for Mélina Roberge, Ragni Mathur, who argued her client was unaware of the cocaine in her friend’s luggage in the cabin they shared, said four male passengers had traveled with the three accused on the cruise.
Roberge had booked her ticket for the trip with another man who was not associated with the criminal enterprise behind the drug deal, Mathur told the court, while highlighting the fact that Lagacé and Tamine had booked their cruise, which visited Colombia, French Polynesia Chile, Peru and New Zealand, together.
The porn star past of Isabelle Lagacé, one of the two women charged with smuggling $23million worth of cocaine into Australia on a luxury cruise ship revealed
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Melina Roberge, earlier had refused to plead out on charges of commercial drug importation, insistent she was innocent
Mathur argued that her client Roberge should escape being committed for trial because she was only guilty by her association with Ms Lagace.
On CCTV footage of Roberge embarking and disembarking the Sea Princess, she had “nothing in her possession except a wallet or mobile phone”.
Whereas her travelling companion Lagacé, who carried both an iPhone and BlackBerry — known as a device “that is impossible to decode”, allegedly told investigators “you won’t be getting that” when they asked for its password. Significantly, Lagacé had admitted at one point that she owned the suitcase in which cocaine was later found, Mathur contended
Selfie queen Mélina Roberge, constantly posted scenes from the duo’s cruise around the world
The prosecution led by Lincoln Crowley told the court that although the case against Roberge was circumstantial, she and Lagacé had traveled for more than a month in a tiny ship’s cabin in which there was a suitcase packed with almost 30kg of cocaine.
“The cocaine, 29kg of it, was found in a cabin occupied by Ms Roberge and Ms Lagace for the past 40 days, packed up, strapped up, taped up and sitting in a suitcase and would be worth a considerable amount of money,” the prosecution said.
“Two women are minding the cocaine. Lagacé and Roberge are warehousing a quantity of cocaine.
The drug mules enjoyed a dune buggy trip during one stop-off
Almost 30kg of cocaine allegedly found in a suitcase in the girls’ cabin
“It is in effect a floating warehouse. They are sitting on this until they get to Australia.”
Crowley said the drug found in a Swiss suitcase in the girls’ cabin was in layers of Clipseal plastic bags tied up with masking tape.
He said the larger amount of cocaine allegedly found in the cabin occupied by the third accused person, Andre Tamine was similarly packaged inside three suitcases.
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