--- title: Australia Jails US Woman for Smuggling Cocaine in High Heels description: American Denise Marie Woodrum was sentenced to a maximum of 7.5 years in prison for smuggling cocaine into Australia in her high heels canonical: https://time.com/5389642/australia-smuggling-cocaine-high-heels/ author: Eli Meixler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-07T05:25:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:22:21.706Z article:section: World og:title: U.S. Woman Jailed For Smuggling Cocaine In Her High Heels og:description: Denise Marie Woodrum said she was the victim of an internet romance scam og:url: https://time.com/5389642/australia-smuggling-cocaine-high-heels/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dab5e0429310fb0/698939a5bc6cfc7f213e6e32/h_54606071.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US woman jailed for smuggling cocaine into Australia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Woman Jailed For Smuggling Cocaine In Her High Heels twitter:description: Denise Marie Woodrum said she was the victim of an internet romance scam twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dab5e0429310fb0/698939a5bc6cfc7f213e6e32/h_54606071.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Woman Jailed in Australia for Smuggling Cocaine in Her High Heels by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Sep 7, 2018 5:25 AM CUT  A high-heeled shoe stuffed with cocaine after it was seized by authorities at Sydney International Airport in Sydney, Australia, seen in a handout made available by Australian Border Force on Sept. 6, 2018. A high-heeled shoe stuffed with cocaine after it was seized by authorities at Sydney International Airport in Sydney, Australia, seen in a handout made available by Australian Border Force on Sept. 6, 2018.Australian Border Force Handout/EFE/EPA by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Sep 7, 2018 5:25 AM CUT An American woman was sentenced to a maximum of seven and a half years in prison for [smuggling cocaine into Australia](https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/devout-us-woman-jailed-for-smuggling-cocaine-in-her-high-heels-20180906-p5022m.html "undefined") in the high heels of her shoes, after saying that she was deceived by an internet romance scam. Denise Marie Woodrum, 51, was arrested at Sydney Airport in August 2017 and charged for importing over a kilogram of cocaine, the Sydney _Morning Herald_ reports. She [pleaded guilty](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-45429407 "undefined") to the charges in January, and was sentenced on Thursday to a maximum of seven and a half years in prison by a court in New South Wales, Australia, according to the BBC. She will be eligible for parole after four and a half years. Police discovered 756 grams of pure cocaine in Woodrum’s shoes and other items after screening her bags at Sydney Airport on Aug. 4, 2017\. After being informed that her bags had [tested positive](https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/devout-us-woman-found-with-cocaine-hidden-in-her-shoes-at-sydney-airport-20180809-p4zwho.html "undefined") for cocaine, Woodrum asked “Why, how much did you find?” the _Morning Herald_ reported. Woodrum also told the Australian Border Force that the shoes were a gift for her mother. Woodrum, who is from Missouri, said she was duped into transporting the narcotics by a man named “Hendrik Cornelius,” who she said she met online and fell in love with. Woodrum was also a member of a religious order called the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, and was believed she was transporting artifacts for Cornelius, according to her lawyer. “She was groomed to provide a financial gain for this person, Hendrik Cornelius, whatever person or persons it was behind this identity,” Woodrum’s lawyer, Rebecca Neil, said at a sentencing hearing last month. “There are fraudsters out there who are relying on women who are vulnerable.” Judge Penelope Wass dismissed Woodrum’s defense. “I do not accept that she is genuinely contrite for her offending as opposed to being sorry for the situation she now finds herself caught in,” Wass said at the sentencing Thursday, according to the _Morning Herald_. “She continues to blame others for her own reckless actions and appears to have little or no insight into her offending.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5389642/australia-smuggling-cocaine-high-heels/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5389642/australia-smuggling-cocaine-high-heels/"},"headline":"U.S. Woman Jailed in Australia for Smuggling Cocaine in Her High Heels","datePublished":"2018-09-07T05:25:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:22:21.706Z","description":"Denise Marie Woodrum, 51, claims she was the victim of an internet romance scam","url":"https://time.com/5389642/australia-smuggling-cocaine-high-heels/","keywords":["Australia","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dab5e0429310fb0/698939a5bc6cfc7f213e6e32/h_54606071.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dab5e0429310fb0/698939a5bc6cfc7f213e6e32/h_54606071.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US woman jailed for smuggling cocaine into Australia","caption":"US woman jailed for smuggling cocaine into Australia","creditText":"Australian Border Force Handout/EFE/EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/australia/","name":"Australia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5389642/australia-smuggling-cocaine-high-heels/","name":"U.S. Woman Jailed in Australia for Smuggling Cocaine in Her High Heels"}}]}] ```