A Canadian woman who helped smuggle 95kg of cocaine onto a cruise ship to "become the envy of others" on Instagram has been jailed.
Melina Roberge, now 24, broke down as she was sentenced to eight years behind bars in an Australian court this week for trying to bring the drugs into Sydney in 2016.
She was part of a trio involved in the NZ$17 million drug haul on board the MS Sea Princess during a seven-week cruise, CBS News reports.
It was on the ship's final stop, after it had also stopped at Britain, Ireland, the United States, Bermuda, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Chile, where sniffer dogs outed them.
In an affidavit admitted to the court, Roberge said that at the time she was "a stupid young woman" who wanted a lifestyle she couldn't afford.
Judge Kate Traill put it in more frank terms, calling the crime a "very sad indictment" on her age group who "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," Judge Traill said, according to CBS News.
"She wanted to be the envy of others. I doubt she is now."
Roberge's role was to "look pretty" while the drugs were sold below deck, Judge Traill said. The sugar daddy was never identified, CBS News says, with the trio fearing for their families back home.
Her accomplice Isabelle Lagace, 29, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison last November. Lagace told the court she was trying to settle a debt in Canada, also her home country.
The third accomplice, Andre Tamin, 65, will be sentenced in October.
Newshub.
