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Woman pleads guilty to cruise ship cocaine haul
A 28-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle cocaine into Australia on a cruise ship that had set sail from Southampton.
The woman, Isabelle Lagace, her friend Melina Romberce, 23, and another passenger, 64-year-old Andre Tamine, were arrested in Sydney at the end of a 51-day cruise on Sea Princess in August.
The hoard is said to be worth £18 million and Australian police say it is the country’s biggest ever drugs haul on a boat or plane.
Lagace and Romberce boarded the ship in Southampton and posted on social media throughout the trip, which cost £11,000 each.
Lagace will be sentenced in February and could face life imprisonment.
A decision on whether Romberce will stand trial will be made next week, according to The Daily Telegraph in Australia.
Tamine will stand trial in February.
All three are from Quebec, Canada.
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Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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