Once in a Lifetime Isabelle Lagace and Melina Roberge
were 23-years-old and both working dead-end jobs. They were drowning in debt and worked unorthodox
jobs to pay it off. In a later court appearance, Isabelle claimed that she had borrowed $20,000
from some bad people who threatened her and her family if she didn't pay them back. She
even performed as an adult film star while Melina worked as an escort. They kept going on like this
until someone offered to wipe it all away. This offer came from Melina's "sugar daddy,"
with whom she had a relationship since 2015. Melina said he was a wealthy Canadian citizen but
refused to identify him for fear of her family's safety. She worked as the man's escort for a
while before he eventually gave the two women an opportunity to become smugglers for him. He
promised an all-expenses-paid vacation around the world, and if all went well, they'd be compensated
$100,000 for their trouble. All they had to do was smuggle 95 Kilograms of illegal drugs worth
$21 Million into Australia. No problem, right? The offer was too tempting for the women to pass
up, and it wasn't hard for them to leave their 9-5s behind and begin a new life.
Third Party These two young women would have
never put together the plan without a third party pulling the strings. That third party
was their accomplice, 60-year old Andrew Tamin, also referred to as Melina's sugar daddy. There
was a lot of confusion over this figure's place in the whole situation. It was proven that he was a
big part of the smuggling operation as he went around with the girls. From what was reported,
Melina would sleep with different individuals that Tamin introduced to her. This happened
in multiple parts of the world as the small syndicate traveled around. The confusion of
the whole thing comes into play when the person who initially approached the girls is considered.
Some seem to believe that Tamin was the "sugar daddy" who found Melina in the first place.
However, this doesn't make much sense since she revealed everything about Tamin and her dealings
with him. Yet she was too afraid to disclose the identity of the man she only referred to as
a "wealthy Canadian benefactor.' Her openness about Tamin and her clear fearfulness of the
unnamed man suggests that they are different people. This conclusion begs the question,
who was really pulling the strings? While we can never be sure, the police believe the
women and Tamin to be a small cog in a much bigger machine. This makes more sense as to
why the mystery man wasn't more involved with the operation. If he really was such a valuable
piece of something bigger, it stands to reason that he would stay far away from any trouble.
Bon Voyage Tickets aboard luxury cruise ships aren’t cheap.
They typically cost around $100 - $200 a day. And that's not even including other things you'll pay
for while onboard, like fun frozen drinks and food. Some of these cruises last for months,
so the ticket price can be overwhelming. This could be another factor that Roberge and Lagace
considered when first offered the smuggling gig. With debts and jobs like theirs,
they would have never been able to afford a ride around the world on the Sea Princess cruise ship.
Yet this is where the two young ladies, Tamin, and a few other syndicate members
found themselves. The cruise took them everywhere from Peru to Bermuda while offering up the most
luxurious amenities. The cruise ship was a non-stop party for everyone on board as it
docked at 17 different ports in 11 countries. One of their main goals was to hide their drug
trafficking trip behind the guise of two girls just living their best lives. They
made "inspirational" posts to all of their social media accounts. Days before they set sail, Roberge
posted a long-winded message on her Instagram about traveling with an open mind and how she
was ready to take on the world. She used to fear leaving home but was ready to conquer the world.
The purpose was to give the illusion that the two were just traveling abroad on a
journey to discover themselves. Something the Instagram community ate up like breakfast.
While their primary purpose was to be beautiful decoys, they also had to hide a good chunk of
the drugs in their suitcases. It still hasn't been determined exactly where they got the drugs, but
it is believed that they acquired them in Peru. Their main job of creating an online presence to
hide the syndicate's dirty dealings opened them up to an attack of a different sort.
In the modern-day and age, most things go on the internet. This
new way society operates has given birth to an enemy we're all too familiar with, trolls!
The trolls smelt blood in the water once the two women were caught. On one of their posts,
the girls wrote 'Eat, Beach, Sleep, Repeat,' to which a hilarious commenter responded, 'Eat,
beach, yard time, repeat #prison.' Incorrect Assumptions
In the small syndicate's minds, they were being incredibly clever. They believed that their plan
to hide behind the women's social media accounts went off without a hitch. Little did they know
that US and Canadian authorities labeled the women as "high-risk travelers" before they ever
stepped foot on the Sea Princess. However, why officers felt that way remains a mystery and is
most likely part of an active and ongoing investigation. It's safe to assume that any
cruise ship that stops at any of the hot spots for drugs around the world gets at least a glance.
It seems like the scheme had no chance of succeeding from the very beginning and ultimately
collapsed when they docked in Australia. Everyone was surprised when the authorities
and their drug dogs boarded the ship and walked straight to their cabin. Once brought aboard,
it didn't take long for the animals to sniff out the massive amount of illegal drugs. All of the
drugs were located in members of the syndicate's suitcases, making it really hard to deny.
Country Selection With all the different
ports that the cruise ship stopped at, it's rather apparent that they could have unloaded their haul
in a few different places. So why Australia? What about the land down under made them want to bring
the drugs there instead of, let's say, Portugal or Europe? The answer is simple, and as old as time,
they would make the most money in Australia. The Aussies have set up some very strict drug
laws that could land violators in prison for the rest of their lives. This extra bit of
danger shows how much more the drugs they carried were worth in Australia than in other countries.
On average, the drugs are worth around 3x as much as they would be in Canada or America. While you
would imagine that the harsher laws would deter people from Smuggling, it actually had the
inverse effect. It made Australia one of the most desirable locations to send drug shipments for
any ambitious cartel. If they could manage to get their product past customs and onto the Australian
streets, they would stand to make a whole lot of money. This is more than likely one of the biggest
reasons why the syndicate sent $21 million worth of drugs with the women and their associates.
Regretful Tears The entire gang was arrested after authorities
seized the drugs. Until this point, the two women operated very similarly to one another. They both
posed and took pictures while pretending they weren't smuggling drugs. Roberge even stated
that she was encouraged "to take pictures of myself in exotic locations and post them
on Instagram to receive 'likes.' However, during their court appearances, they went in completely
different directions. Lagace admitted her guilt and told the court that she took the job to settle
her insurmountable debt. This early guilty plea granted her a little leniency and allowed her to
begin her sentence immediately. Even though she wasn't sentenced until a little later, she got
time served for her incarceration before then. On the other hand, Roberge maintained her
innocence, claiming that she never knew the drugs were in the suitcases. However,
nobody believed her. The prosecution believed it was highly unlikely that someone other than
the two girls hid the drugs under the bed. Furthermore, how do you share a small cabin
with someone and NOT know they're smuggling $21 Million worth of drugs in your suitcase?
Roberge's blatant lies ended up costing her valuable time. In the face of insurmountable
evidence, she had to admit her guilt anyway. While their trip was filled with carefree energy,
the weight of what they both had done hit the young women in court. They both were seen
dabbing tears from their eyes during the trial. Lagace and Roberge were not only brought into the
fold with money but the promise of a glamorous lifestyle. They admitted as such in court,
and the judge was none too pleased with them or their generation. Judge Kate Traill, who oversaw
the case, wasn't the biggest fan of social media. She believed the lure of Social Media attention
seduced the girls, and they chose this life of crime to earn likes on Instagram. These two girls
wanted others to envy them, but few probably do now. Roberge later admitted that she was a stupid
young woman motivated by superficial goals. Canada Bound
Sending criminals back to their country of origin after serving their time is a pretty
regular occurrence. It's kind of like if some kid stole from your house. After punishing them,
you wouldn't want them to hang around your home, now would you? This was Lagace's fate when she was
released from Australian prison in February 2021. She was sent back to Canada and has been pretty
quiet since then. No more pictures from Peru or inspirational quotes posted on her Instagram.
She seemed to have gotten enough of the glamorous side of life to last her forever.
On the other hand, Roberge got herself a slightly longer sentence for lying to the
court. She got out in May of 2021. However, similarly to Lagace, she must have had enough
of being in the spotlight. Both girls seemingly disappeared into the Canadian ether. Hopefully,
their Sugar Daddy forgave them because their creditors certainly didn't.
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