Convicted Australian drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury has been released from a Colombian prison.
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The South Australian was serving a six-year term for smuggling 5.8kg of cocaine out of Colombia.
The former personal trainer from Adelaide was arrested at El Dorado airport in Bogota in April 2017 where the cocaine was packaged in 18 headphone boxes in her suitcase.
She was then sentenced in November after a judge rubber-stamped a plea deal.
Sainsbury has now walked free from El Buen Pastor women's prison after spending three years behind bars.
This follows Colombia's President Ivan Duque on Wednesday ordering the "humanitarian" release of more than 4000 prisoners to house arrest, in an effort to reduce overcrowding and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Agence France-Presse reported that two prisoners have died from COVID-19 in the South American country.
Sainsbury's former Australian lawyer Stephen Kenny said after looking at reports from Colombia, the majority of released prisoners would return to jail after six months.
However, some well-behaved prisoners could remain on home detention, he told AAP.
"Usually, in Australia, to be granted parole you have to have a place to live," Mr Kenny said.
"Obviously, she's found somewhere... but it would be a question of who's paying the cost of that, particular if she is on parole, and what the conditions are."
As part of her parole conditions, Sainsbury must remain in Colombia for another 27 months, according to Nine News.
Sainsbury said the experience had made her grow as a person and she had learnt a lot about herself and others.
"I learned a lot about people, I've learned how to analyse people better," she said in a 60 Minutes interview extract posted online by Nine News.
"I've learned not to trust people so much.
"It's been definitely a massive learning curve but, at the same time, everything that I've been through in prison, everything that I learnt I wouldn't change it because it's made me a stronger person it's made me who I am today."
In an earlier interview with the program, Sainsbury told of how she believed she had accepted a job as a legitimate courier transporting documents for $10,000 plus flights, but plans changed at the last minute.
She said she was sent to Colombia where a man known as Angelo threatened via WhatsApp to kill her mum, sister and fiance if she did not transport his drugs.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was contacted for comment.
Australian Associated Press
