Melina Roberge, from Quebec, Canada was jailed 8 years Wednesday for her part in an international scheme to import a huge quantity of  cocaine into Australia, aboard the Princess, a luxury cruise liner

A Canadian woman who claimed she was ‘Seduced by lifestyle’ io get involved in a transcontinental  cocaine helped smuggling plot has been sent to jail in Australia.
The Quebec resident dubbed “cocaine babe” for importing £11 million worth of the drug into Australia on a luxury cruise liner, Melina Roberge, was sentenced to serve eight  Roberge, 24, broke down as she was sentenced alongside her porn star pal at a court in New South Wales, Australia.
Handing down the sentence, New South Wales District Court Judge Kate Traill said that the defendant’s “vacuous existence”, posting selfies and pursuing online attention, illustrated the harmful effect of social media on young women.

Melina Roberge [left], with Isabelle Lagacé, [right], showing off their exotic lifestyle on social media, as the now admitted drug mules transported cocaine to Australia, aboard a luxury cruiser. Lagacé was jailed in November

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Instagram selfie loving Melina Roberge was one of three people arrested in 2016 in the largest drug seizure on a cruise ship arriving in Australia. Roberge boarded Sea Princess to promote herself on Instagram, on which she broadcast her glamorous lifestyle.
She and two accomplices were caught after police and border officers discovered nearly 30kg of cocaine in their luggage onboard the liner when it docked in Sydney in August 2016.

Melina Roberge and IIsabelle Lagacé were not shy about showcasing their glamorous, carefree lifestyle

All three French Canadians have now pled guilty to the scheme to import 95kg  of drugs on the MS Sea Princess. Roberge had agreed to pose as a tourist on the trip in exchange for money, a court heard.
A judge said she was also motivated by the chance to post “glamorous” travel photos on social media.
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Australian police discovered $31million worth of cocaine in cabins on the ship in August 2016 after it docked in Sydney following a trip around the world.
Roberge’s cabin mate, 29-year-old Canadian porn star, Isabelle Lagacé, jailed seven and-a-half years in November for her role in the plot to smuggle cocaine worth $31 Million into Australia on a cruise ship that sailed from Europe. The third member of the team Andre Tamine, 64, is still to face sentencing over his role in the operation.
Authorities have described the drug seizure as the largest Australia has ever had on a commercial boat or plane.
On Wednesday Judge Kate Traill while accepting the fact  that Roberge was genuinely remorseful and had a good chance of rehabilitation, attacked her motivation for taking the drug cruise.  “It is a very sad indictment on her relative age group in society to seem to get self worth relative to posts on Instagram,” Judge Traill said
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64-year-old Andre Tamine has also pled guilty and awaits sentencing

But the judge criticized Roberge’s “vacuous” decision-making, saying she had been influenced by seeking validation online.
“She was seduced by lifestyle and the opportunity to post glamorous Instagram photos from around the world,” Judge Traill said.
“She wanted to be the envy of others. I doubt she is now.”

95Kg of ‘coke’ was found in the luggage of the three Canadians. Australian authorities estimated the cocaine has a street value of almost $31 million

Isabelle Lagacé, 29, has been jailed for four and a half years

“It is sad they seek to attain such a vacuous existence where how many likes they receive are their currency.
“She was seduced by lifestyle and the opportunity to post glamorous Instagram photos from around the world.
The judge said the case highlighted the negative influence that social media could have on young people.
Roberge who had pled guilty to importing a commercial quantity of cocaine  bit her lip and wiped her eyes with a tissue in court.
Observing that the saga begun with a sexual relationship the defendant had with a “much older man”, her so-called “sugar daddy,” the judge said: “He charmed her and spoiled her and became intimately involved with her.”
Roberge during her trial testified that her “sugar daddy” enticed her to work as an escort and she slept with men he introduced her to in nightclubs, the court heard.
Roberge herself stood to earn a possible $100,000 from the $31million cocaine plot, was being sentenced for trafficking 29kg, 23kg of it pure, of the total importation.
She and travel partner Isabelle Lagacé, now serving four and half years for her role in the scheme, made international headlines with the Instagram photos of themselves in bikinis at exotic stops en route to Sydney.
Roberge and Lagacé were flown first class to the UK to join the cruise ship and act as the glamorous foil for the real business of the drug importation.
The two were given first class cruise tickets worth $20,000 and 4,000 euros spending money.
The Sea Princess stopped at Bermuda, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Tahiti before berthing in Sydney six weeks later.