Melbourne mother-of-five Debbie Voulgaris has lost her appeal against a 16-year prison sentence in Taiwan, deepening the anguish for her family, who maintain she was duped into becoming an unwitting drug mule.
Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December 2023 after Taiwanese authorities found more than seven kilograms of heroin and cocaine – worth an estimated $1.25 million – in her luggage.
Facing the death penalty if convicted at trial, Voulgaris entered a guilty plea in early 2024 in hopes of leniency. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison – one of the harshest drug sentences handed down to an Australian abroad in recent years.
Her bid to overturn the sentence was recently denied by Taiwan’s High Court, despite ongoing claims that she was unknowingly caught in a “black money scam.”
In a statement to 10 News+, her son Arthur Koromilis said the family was “devastated” by the ruling.
“There’s nothing we can do. We’re powerless,” he said, before adding, “I know she is [innocent]… without a doubt.”
Source: 10NewsAU
