Canadian drug mule Melina Roberge dubbed "cocaine babe" by Australian media will be eligible for parole in May 2021. (Photo: Instagram)

Australian judge sentences Canadian ‘cocaine babe’ to 8 years in jail

An Australian court sentenced a Canadian drug mule to eight years in prison on Wednesday for her part in an attempt to smuggle into Sydney nearly 95 kilograms of cocaine hidden in luggage aboard a luxury cruise ship.

Melina Roberge, 24, broke down in tears as she told the New South Wales state District Court that she risked a life sentence in an Australian prison for the opportunity to take selfies “in exotic locations and post them on Instagram to receive ‘likes’ and attention.”

Roberge, dubbed “cocaine babe” by Australian media,  was sentenced to a non-parole period of 4 years and 9 months in prison, but factoring time already served, she will be eligible for parole in May 2021.

Roberge and two other Quebecers, have pleaded guilty to smuggling cocaine worth about $16 million US packed in suitcases aboard the MS Sea Princess during a seven-week cruise in 2016 from Britain to Ireland, the United States, Bermuda, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Chile then Australia.

Melina Roberge, 24, and Isabelle Lagacé, 29, are originally from Quebec. Roberge, Lagacé and Andre Tamin, 63, pleaded guilty to smuggling 95 kilograms of cocaine in suitcases aboard the MS Sea Princess during a seven-week cruise in 2016. (INSTAGRAM)

Roberge’s accomplice with whom she shared a cabin, Isabelle Lagacé, 29, was sentenced in November to 7 1/2 years in prison backdated to their arrest, on Aug. 28, 2016. Lagacé will also likely be deported after serving a non-parole period of 4 1/2 years.

The third co-accused, Andre Tamine, 65, has also pleaded guilty to his role in the attempted smuggling and will be sentenced later this year.

In handing down her sentence, Judge Kate Traill accepted Roberge’s “genuine contrition and remorse” and noted the Canadian had a very good chance of rehabilitation, but slammed the seemingly insatiable quest for Internet fame by many young people of her generation.

“This is a very sad indictment on her relative age group in our society who seem to get self-worth by likes on Instagram which can make them a marketable commodity,” Judge Traill said.

“It is sad they seek to obtain such a vacuous existence where how many likes they receive is their currency. This highlights the negative influence of social media on young women such as the offender.”

With files by the Associated Press

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