Colombian model jailed for drug smuggling
Print Edition
A COLOMBIAN beauty queen has been convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to 15 years in jail by a Chinese court.
Juliana Lopez Sarrazola, 23, was caught with a laptop stuffed with 610 grams of cocaine hidden inside at an airport in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in July last year, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.
She was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday and will be expelled from the country once the term is served, according to the report, which described her as a model.
Videos posted online show Sarrazola seeking a place in the 2014-15 Senorita Antioquia beauty contest, the winner of which gets the chance to represent Colombia at Miss World.
Sarrazola said she agreed to carry the drugs for a Colombian drug dealer, identified only as Sergio in the report, because she wanted to borrow money from him to attend the Miss World pageant, the newspaper said.
She was paid for her air tickets, hotel and US$776 in cash and the drug dealer agreed to reward her with a further US$2,500 if the scheme went through, it said. The final of Miss World 2015 was held in Sanya in China’s island province of Hainan.
Sarrazola’s lawyers appealed to the court for leniency on the grounds that Sergio threatened to kill her family if she refused to comply with his demands, the Nanfang Daily reported.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
