Corby arrives at Brisbane airport and evades media after last-minute change of flight, with security team member asking public to ‘respect family’s privacy’

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Schapelle Corby, Australia’s most notorious drug smuggler, has arrived back in her home country for the first time in 13 years after leaving her Bali home amid intense media scrutiny.

Corby left her villa in Kuta with a heavy police escort to sign some final paperwork before going to Denpasar airport to fly to Brisbane. After switching flights at the last minute, she arrived in Australia early on Sunday morning.

The 39-year-old was accompanied by her sister Mercedes and arrived in Brisbane on a Malindo Air flight after being deported from Bali 12 and a half years after she was caught with 4.1kg of marijuana.

Schapelle Corby, her supporters' conspiracy claims and the media storm that awaits her Read more

Corby was 27 when she was arrested in 2004 after customs officers at Bali’s airport found the drugs inside her boogie board bag.

Corby, whose case sparked a media frenzy in Australia, always insisted the drugs had been planted in her bag. But Balinese prosecutors dismissed her claim that baggage handlers put the marijuana in her – and she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Her sentence was later reduced and in 2014, after nine years behind bars, she was released from prison.

Corby had to stay in Bali until her parole expired on Saturday. In the lead-up to her deportation, she kept a low profile, living in a villa in Bali with her Indonesian boyfriend.

On Sunday a large media contingent was waiting for Corby at Brisbane airport but she slipped away via a non-public exit. Two convoys, followed by the media, left the airport, and took separate routes.

One ended at the Sofitel hotel in the city, while the other stopped at the KFC store at Ormeau, en route to the Gold Coast. Corby was not seen in either.

Queensland police said they had not provided an escort for the convoys.

Queensland Police (@QPSmedia) Folks, please be advised that Schapelle is not travelling with a police escort. @TheTodayShow @9NewsQueensland

After Corby left the airport, a member of her security team read a statement on behalf of the family, asking for privacy but also thanking supporters.

“To all those in Australia and to all of those in Bali, who were there throughout the difficult journey, your support has not gone unnoticed,” the statement said. “To each and every one of you, you are appreciated.”

The family said the focus was now on helping Corby adjust to life back in Australia. “The priority of our focus will now be on healing and moving forward,” the statement said.

“In the spirit of humility and in the spirit of dignity, we ask all parties to show respect for the family’s privacy during this time.”



Corby’s security team also made a last-minute switch to put her on the Malindo Air flight. She had been expected to travel on a Virgin flight that left around the same time. Up to 40 journalists, including a Channel Nine crew, had booked seats on the Virgin flight.

Fellow passengers said they were held back from boarding the Malindo Air flight and getting off the plane until Corby was sorted. “They said that the special guest had to get off first, they blocked everyone from business class,” one passenger said.

Corby joined Instagram late on Saturday, and posted images from her final day in Indonesia, including a shot from the plane. By Sunday morning she had 97,400 followers.

Boarded A post shared by Schapellecorby (@schapelle.corby) on May 27, 2017 at 7:04am PDT

She also raised eyebrows by holding up a bag with the face of missing boy William Tyrrell, who disappeared from Kendall in New South Wales in 2014, as she made her final public trip through Bali.

Later on Sunday, Corby’s family began gathering at her mother Rosleigh’s home in Loganlea, south of Brisbane.

The intensity of the Australian media’s focus on the Corby case continued unabated on her last day in Indonesia. Commercial television held live broadcasts to monitor the developments, and a throng of Australian and international media waited outside her home.

Local police reportedly marshalled 275 officers from Kuta and Denpasar to help escort Corby to the airport for her deportation.



The Corby family had requested privacy from the media crews gathered at the home.

A bucket of water was thrown at a Channel Seven cameraman, and Mercedes placed a note on the front door, warning media against trying to film over the villa’s fence.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Journalists take pictures outside the villa where Schapelle Corby has been living. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

It was unclear whether Corby would stay with siblings on the Gold Coast or with her mother in Logan upon her return to Australia.

On Friday, the head of Bali’s law and human rights office, Ida Bagus Ketut Adnyana, said the heavy police presence was needed because “it’s not normal, there are too many people”.

He said it was likely she would be taken via a different passage to normal passengers at the airport. “Up to now [she was supposed to use] only normal pathway but if it’s difficult, blocked by reporters and passengers, then there could be some special action in the field,” Adnyana said.