Pic shows: The Colombian model who is facing the death penalty in China because she was caught with drug.
A stunning 22-year-old Colombian model is facing the death penalty after she was caught with a plastic bag full of drugs hidden inside her laptop.
Juliana Lopez seemed to have the world at her feet, operating a trendy boutique and hosting a television show, as well as being a well-known local professional women’s football player.
And after being voted Miss Antioquia, she was going to participate in the Miss World Medellin competition this week, but suddenly lost contact with her family after heading to China to purchase items for her shop. Worried about her whereabouts, her family contacted the Colombian embassy saying that she had vanished. She had apparently flown into the airport in the city of Guangzhou, in the southeast Chinese province of Canton, where they have then lost contact with her.
Now they have been given the worst possible answer, after Chinese officials confirmed she had been arrested for drug smuggling by travelling to China on business to purchase goods for one of her stores. It was not specified what the goods were inside her laptop but police say they found a large quantity of drugs.
The young woman is passionate about football and is a member of the club “Divas del Futbol”. Juliana is also a student at the University of San Buenaventura, in the city of Bello, in the northcentral Colombian district of Antioquia.
Carrying drugs in China is not only banned, but her family have been warned that the crime can carry the death penalty and relatives and friends are now desperately trying to collect money to get top lawyers and team sent over to defend her. They also want family and friends to travel over to support her.
The cover photo of the model’s Facebook profile was taken last year and shows the model in China, where she usually travels to buy goods for her business. She poses smiling because it was the first time she visited the country.
Alejandro Duque who is the coach of the football team where she played said that she was the spiritual heart of the group.
He said: “Juliana was the central point of the group, she spoke a lot with the press, and she gave her face to the team.”
About the drug charges he added: “She is a good girl, student, model, contestant of beauty contests, and she has always been an athlete.”
He said he had last seen her two weeks ago shortly before she travelled to China to buy shoes, clothes and other accessories.
Duque said: “My heart tells me that she is not guilty, she is a fighter. She cannot be sentenced yet, I have hope that she is innocent and that everything can be sorted out.”
According to the newspaper El Tiempo, the Colombian Foreign Ministry has provided legal assistance and support to Juliana and her family through her mother, Nubia Sarrazola.
The spokesman said: “We work to ensure the preservation of the rights of private individuals and the right to a proper defence and the presumption of innocence, as well as respect for due process and the preservation of her personal integrity and her health.” However, the Chinese police investigation could take between six months and two years and the contact of the model with her family could be restricted in that time.
Currently, there are 138 Colombian prisoners in China’s jails that have been arrested for different reasons, and 12 of them were sentenced to death. Nine of these cases are frozen thanks to the efforts of the Colombian government. Another group of 11 was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Of those arrested, 90 percent were linked with drugs-related crimes, and the rest were related to prostitution.
The People’s Republic of China executes the highest number of people annually for various crimes including drug taking.
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22 year old Colombian model faces death penalty in China for smuggling drugs!
A Colombian model, Juliana Lopez is facing death penalty in China after being arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.
22-year-old Juliana Lopez from Colombia was arrested for smuggling drugs at Guangzhou Airport in south China’s Guangzhou Province Back in Colombia, Juliana Lopez was a role model who plays soccer for a local football club “The Football Divasis” and also works as a presenter at a local TV station. She’s also a beauty pageant contestant and winner. After winning the Miss Antioquia beauty pageant, she was going to participate in the Miss World Medellin competition in Colombia.
At a young age, Juliana seems to have it all already, but unfortunately fell into the deadly trap of drug trafficking!
In China, drug smuggling cases usually result in either the death sentence or a lengthy jail term, and defendants rarely get off.
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