Hostie in cocaine bra bungle
SMUGGLING cocaine into Australia was supposed to be a breeze for “big breasted” flight attendant Suellen Cryer, with a report in www.news.com.au saying that stuffing two bags of the drug into her bra before boarding a Sydney-bound Qantas jet, Cryer believed her ample bosom would provide perfect cover for her illegal stash.
But, a Sydney court heard yesterday her plan was deflated after she was detected upon arrival at Sydney airport in March last year, with Cryer, 54, facing trial in the District Court after pleading not guilty to a charge of importing a marketable quantity of cocaine.
The Crown alleges Cryer brought 136g of the drug into the country and giving evidence yesterday, the veteran flight attendant, who was sacked from her $80,000-a-year job, admitted bringing the drugs into Australia but insisted she had no intention of selling them.
She maintained the cocaine was to feed her addiction, which began after a chance meeting with a man named “Bobby” in Los Angeles 15 years ago, Cryer telling the court her dream job led to a secret life of drug addiction after meeting Bobby while drinking with Qantas colleagues in an LA bar.
From that point on, she tried to work exclusively on Sydney-LA flights, which offered a 58-hour stopover and a $US300 cash allowance and on each trip she would contact the drug dealer and purchase cocaine, becoming addicted, she told the court.
In March last year, she travelled to LA with $4000, intending to buy a wedding present for her daughter, but iunstead, she used the money to buy cocaine, which she then decided to bring back to Sydney.
Cryer said Bobby suggested she smuggle the drugs in her bra, tellign the jury, “Because of the shape of the bags . . . because I happen to be a little bit big-breasted, he said they would fit under my breasts”.
Cryer said she flew from Los Angeles to New Zealand, stashing the bag in an overhead locker in business class while she worked. At a hotel in Auckland, she then carefully unwrapped one bag to use some of the drugs and the next morning, boarding a flight to Sydney as a regular passenger but was caught soon after arrival.
During a search of Cryer’s southern Sydney home, police located more cocaine, a number of resealable plastic bags and a box used to store kitchen scales, the court heard.
Cryer denied the items were used by her to sell drugs, claiming the scales belonged to a friend who was a gold and diamond dealer.
She said large deposits made into her bank account were the result of several big wins on the poker machines at St George Leagues Club.
Psychiatrist David Whitten said Cryer had used cocaine for 15 years to self-medicate for major depression and the court also heard she had suffered a perforated nasal septum – consistent with heavy use of the drug.
Cryer has been undergoing rehabilitation since her arrest but admitted she had used cocaine as recently as January.
The trial before Judge Allan Hughes continues.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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