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Courier-Mail
30-06-2025
- Courier-Mail
10 News+ nabs exclusive interview with Taiwan drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Australia's newest investigative journalism program has kicked off with a bombshell program presenting evidence it claims can prove the innocence of Melbourne mum and convicted drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris. Channel 10's new program 10 News+, which has replaced The Project, aired an exclusive interview with Ms Voulgaris from her Taiwanese prison on Monday. Journalist Denham Hitchcock insisted the program had evidence to prove Ms Voulgaris' innocence. She is currently held at a women's prison in Taipei, Taiwan serving a 15-year sentence for drug smuggling. Ms Voulgaris alleged in the program that she went to Laos because of her husband John Voulgaris, but said she did not believe he would intentionally involve her in a crime. 'I wouldn't think that he would hurt you, his children,' Ms Voulgaris told her children in a video call recorded by the program. 10 News+ alleged that Ms Voulgaris' husband was caught up in a 'black money scam' when he asked his ex-wife to travel. It is a scam that presents victims with a narrative that a huge amount of money has been physically stained in some way, then victims will be instructed to retrieve money-cleaning chemicals in exchange for a portion of the money — instead drugs are likely smuggled in the suitcases. The program alleged that Mr Voulgaris flew to London and Laos to pick up suitcases that were brought to a hotel in Melbourne. Debbie Voulgaris says she is innocent of her drug smuggling, and pleaded guilty only in a bid to avoid the death penalty. Picture: 10 News Mr Voulgaris then allegedly sent Ms Voulgaris to retrieve the next suitcase. 'Brother, I'm sending my ex-wife. Better nothing goes wrong,' a message sent from Mr Voulgaris' to the alleged scammer's account read. Ms Voulgaris travelled to Laos twice to pick up suitcases, but again the money cleaning failed. 10 News+ alleged that Mr Voulgaris then became aware that the scheme may not have been what he initially believed. Mr Voulgaris sent a message to the scammer: 'You are risking money, I'm risking the mother of my children.' Mr Voulgaris has not been charged with any crime and has previously said he and his ex-wife had been set up. 10 News+ said that Ms Voulgaris was struggling for money throughout the process of the alleged smuggling. She was arrested at a Taiwanese airport with 7kg of heroin and cocaine in her suitcase. Debbie Voulgaris, 58, from Melbourne, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport on December 10, 2023, after cocaine and heroin were found in plastic bags inside her luggage. Picture: Supplied The alleged scammer stopped replying to Mr Voulgaris' messages following Ms Voulgaris' arrest, 10 News reported. Ms Voulgaris' faced the death penalty and pleaded guilty, hoping for a lighter sentence. Ms Voulgaris' new lawyer, Michael Hsu, told the program he believed she was innocent. 'Debbie, definitely has no intention to trafficking any drugs into Taiwan. 'So, it is hard to imagine a normal housewife to be a drug mule,' Mr Hsu said. In a video call between Ms Voulgaris and her children recorded by the program she begged for help to get home to her 'angels'. In a heartbreaking video Ms Voulgaris sang 'you are my sunshine' to her children. Mr Hitchcock doorknocked Mr Voulgaris' home, but he did not open the door to the reporter. He previously denied the allegations to Daily Mail Australia, declaring his ex-wife is 'bloody innocent!'' 'We have been set up! We don't know anything about bloody drugs and have never seen or touched them in our lives,' he said in May last year. Asked about the case later on the program, Anthony Albanese said he was 'aware' of Ms Voulgaris but refrained from 'making a declaration as to her status'. He said she had been given consular assistance by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading but declined making further comment as she waits for her final chance at appeal. 'If you start commenting as an Australian Prime Minister about court processes overseas, then that will not assist the Australian citizen who is going through that process,' he told the program. 'But Foreign Affairs and Trade will continue to provide support to the family. It obviously is a very distressing time.' Journalists Denham Hitchcock and Walkley Award-winning journalist Amelia Brace will helm the new current affairs show. Picture: 10 News In earlier promotional material, Mr Hitchcock and Ms Brace promise viewers the show will 'put the truth first'. Mr Hitchcock has also claimed Monday night's episode would be 'an absolute blockbuster'. 'It's a story 60 Minutes, Four Corners and Spotlight would kill for,' he told Stellar Magazine. The Project ran for 16 years, ending its run with a farewell show last Friday night. Mr Aly, in an emotional tribute, said the show had 'reflected the best of this country'. 'Could you do a prime time commercial news show that hooked its audience by playing with them instead of scaring them,' he said. 'That didn't trade on demonising groups of people who have no platform to respond? 'Not the done thing. Well, we done the thing.' The Project launched in 2009 and Friday's finale was its 4504th episode. Australian and international celebrities sent in supportive farewell video messages, with thanks and well wishes coming from G Flip, Robert Irwin, Jess Mauboy, Andy Lee, Pete Murray, Dannii Minogue, Katy Perry, Guy Sebastian and Shane Jacobson. The Project's longest-serving host, Carrie Bickmore, was close to tears thanking everyone she crossed paths with over 13 years. Ms Bickmore left the show to devote herself fully to fundraising efforts. Channel 10 is owned by US entertainment giant Paramount Global. Originally published as Convicted drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris gives exclusive interview to 10 News+ from Taiwan prison
Perth Now
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Aussie mum breaks silence from Taiwan jail
Television's widely anticipated replacement for The Project has kicked off with an exclusive interview with convicted Australian drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris from a Taiwanese prison. 10 News+, which will air from 6pm on weeknights, promises viewers 'explosive' revelations in the case for its first episode. Ms Voulgaris, a Melbourne mum-of-five, speaks from an overcrowded women's prison in Taipei and states emphatically that she is innocent of the allegations that have put her behind bars for 15 years. Ms Voulgaris was caught with 4kg of heroin and a small amount of cocaine at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan in late 2023. She pleaded guilty to the charge and in late 2024 she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But she has maintained that she brought drugs in unknowingly. Now, appearing on the current affairs program helmed by journalists Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace, she pleads with two of her children via a video call to help get her back home to Australia. Debbie Voulgaris says she is innocent of her drug smuggling conviction. 10 News Credit: Supplied 'I'm innocent. I am innocent,' she says through tears. 'Please help me to get home as soon as possible. 'To my angels, that's all I can say.' The program claims to have evidence that supports Ms Voulgaris' claim of innocence. 'She confessed in court in Taiwan, didn't she?' Mr Hitchcock in a clip of the program seen by NewsWire. 'Well, prepare yourself. The truth is explosive.' In earlier promotional material, Mr Hitchcock and Ms Brace promise viewers the show will 'put the truth first'. Mr Hitchcock has also claimed Monday night's episode would be 'an absolute blockbuster'. 'It's a story 60 Minutes, Four Corners and Spotlight would kill for,' he told Stellar Magazine. The Project ran for 16 years, ending its run with a farewell show last Friday night. Mr Aly, in an emotional tribute, said the show had 'reflected the best of this country'. Journalists Denham Hitchcock and Walkley Award-winning journalist Amelia Brace will helm the new current affairs show. 10 News Credit: Supplied 'Could you do a prime time commercial news show that hooked its audience by playing with them instead of scaring them,' he said. 'That didn't trade on demonising groups of people who have no platform to respond? 'Not the done thing. Well, we done the thing.' The Project launched in 2009 and Friday's finale was its 4504th episode. Australian and international celebrities sent in supportive farewell video messages, with thanks and well wishes coming from G Flip, Robert Irwin, Jess Mauboy, Andy Lee, Pete Murray, Dannii Minogue, Katy Perry, Guy Sebastian and Shane Jacobson. The Project's longest-serving host, Carrie Bickmore, was close to tears thanking everyone she crossed paths with over 13 years. Ms Bickmore left the show to devote herself fully to fundraising efforts. Channel 10 is owned by US entertainment giant Paramount Global.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
She Thought Her Long-Lost Mom Was Dead and Wrote a Novel to Say ‘Goodbye.' Then Her Phone Rang (Exclusive)
Author Stefany Valentine published her debut novel, , in January While she was writing the book, about an adoptee looking to reconnect with her culture, Stefany coincidentally reunited with her own birth mom for the first time in 25 years Stefany's experience led her to apply to go to school to learn Mandarin and reconnect with her Taiwanese heritage In August, author Stefany Valentine got a hug she'd previously thought was impossible. After not hearing from her birth mother, Meiling Valentine, for 25 years, Stefany had all but given up on the hope that they might one day reconnect — and even feared Meiling had died. Then an unexpected coincidence brought them back together from opposite sides of the world. 'I was wondering if I would recognize her in a crowd, and I did,' Stefany tells PEOPLE through tears. 'It was just so good to hug her for the first time. I needed that hug.' The reunion between Stefany and Meiling, at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, unfolded while Stefany was working on her debut novel, First Love Language, which centers around Catie — a Taiwanese-American teen and adoptee looking to reconnect with her birth culture by learning Mandarin. Stefany, 31, calls the process of working on the book 'very therapeutic,' saying that in some ways, she used it to 'to really say goodbye, to close the door,' on finding her birth mom. Related: Mom Breaks Down Her Unique Open Adoption Story and the 1 Rule She's Established with Daughter's Birth Mom (Exclusive) Stefany is one of five siblings born to Meiling and Lt. Col. Todd Merrill Valentine. Due to Todd's career in the Air Force, the family moved around a lot, spending time in Taiwan, Texas (where Stefany was born) and South Dakota. When Stefany was 5, her parents divorced and Todd took custody of the kids and moved them back to the states. Stefany says Meiling, who didn't speak English, was cut out of their lives. "I almost collapsed,' Meiling tells PEOPLE now of losing her ties to her children. 'I looked everywhere for someone who could help me, but because I had no work experience, no money and language barriers, there was no way to find a proper solution. It was unfair treatment." All these years later, Stefany says she tries to stay 'neutral' when it comes to her feelings about what happened between her parents but notes, 'All of the resources that my dad had, my mom didn't.' While growing up apart from her biological mother, Stefany says she was 'fed' what she believes is a false narrative about Meiling — that she was 'dangerous' and 'neglected' her children. 'I think that that was another cultural divide because I don't remember feeling neglected in Taiwan,' Stefany says. In America after the divorce, Stefany says she and her siblings left their Taiwanese culture behind. 'It was 'Go to school, speak English, assimilate, we're not doing that anymore,' ' she recalls. 'And I think that was that. Losing a mother is one thing — and then losing your culture.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Stefany struggled to grasp English, but her escape methods led to her writing career. 'I spent a lot of time daydreaming,' she says. 'And I think that's ultimately what also led me down the path to becoming an author is because to this day, I am just constantly daydreaming.' When Stefany turned 8, her father remarried and her stepmom, Cindy, blended their family with Cindy's four children from a previous relationship. Several years later, in 2006, Stefany's father died of colon cancer. Cindy legally adopted Stefany and her siblings, becoming a single mother to nine children. 'I was struggling with a lot of depression,' Stefany says of the time after her dad's death. As she grappled with her loss and her biological mother's absence, Stefany says her anger only grew as she went into her teenage years. Related: Thinking About Adoption? Here's What to Know 'That rage that had gotten buried over time came right back up because I lost my mom, that's where the anger came from and now I'm losing my dad,' Stefany says. 'I was kicked out of my house for speaking out of turn, speaking my mind and everything.' Cindy sent Stefany to live with other family members throughout most of high school, allowing her to move back in for senior year, Stefany says. For decades, she yearned for answers about Meiling. 'The need to know has always been there,' she says. Stefany sought refuge in writing, writing a short story for the young-adult anthology When We Become Ours, which highlights the adoptee experience. 'To see an entire community of people who have similar feelings and similar traumas and complicated backgrounds and everything, I was like, 'Where have you guys been my entire life?' ' Stefany says. 'I felt like I was trying to farm some land with my bare hands and they were like, 'Here's a hoe.' Like — oh, cool, I can actually get to work now." The experience led Stefany to rework First Love Language, her first novel, to be more adoptee-focused. While she had looked into genealogy and historical records, trying to find Meiling, multiple psychics indicated that Meiling had died and Stefany eventually stopped searching. Then on New Year's Eve 2023, she got a surprising call. 'My sister-in-law calls me and is like, 'There's a Taiwanese lady in our Mormon church, and she grew up with your mom, and she's going to find her for you,' ' Stefany says of the unlikely series of events. She and her siblings were initially able to reconnect with Meiling via text and while, she says, her siblings were less open to a reunion, Cindy later facilitated Stefany's trip to Taiwan 'I think she understood how much it meant to me,' Stefany says of her stepmom. 'She provided us the flight and everything, because she works with Delta.' And in August, Stefany came face-to-face with Meiling for the first time in more than two decades. 'Nervous, anxious, scared, excited, everything — what wasn't I feeling?' Stefany says of the lead-up to their first encounter at the airport. 'It was like Christmas, when you're going to bed and you're like, 'I'm going to get to open the presents tomorrow?' It was very much that for weeks leading up to it, just like, 'One day closer. One day closer.' " Stefany says she was shocked by the physical similarities between herself and Meiling.'Growing up, I've always felt like I look really White, or I look more White than my siblings do. And then when I saw her, I was just like, 'Dude, we look like twins,' ' Stefany says. 'It's not a race thing, it's a feature thing. We just have the exact same features.' Meiling also noticed the similarities, telling PEOPLE, 'The first time I saw Stefany at the airport, I was shocked because she was no longer the cute little girl I often dreamed of. She had grown up and looked so much like me, which touched me." Stefany and Meiling, 57, made up for lost time during Stefany's two-week trip last year, going hiking, visiting street markets, spending the night in an aquarium and even celebrating Meiling's birthday with a cake. 'She was like, 'This is the best birthday I've had in 20 years,' ' Stefany says. During the second week of the trip, Stefany and Meiling spent time with another special visitor — Cindy. 'We got hot pot together,' Stefany says of the meeting between her birth mother and her adopted mother. 'I was like, 'Oh, please be civil with each other. I hope there's no anger.' I think for Meiling, she was very much like, 'You raised my kids. Thank you for that. I appreciate that,' and I think Cindy was very like, 'Well, you gave birth to my daughter, so thank you for that.' I think it was just this handshake, this unspoken handshake that they had for each other.' Stefany adds that being in Taiwan with Cindy was 'healing' for her. 'It was a good way to bury or to begin burying a lot of the past, make peace with what is and not what should be, that sort of thing,' she says. Visiting Taiwan also sparked Stefany's desire to properly study Mandarin after practicing online while working on First Love Language. She successfully applied for the local Chung Yuan University and will start there in the fall. 'The money that I made from my advance from First Love Language, I now get to put toward my tuition, it's so cool,' Stefany says. 'It's so full circle.' She plans to use her studies to help facilitate reunions between Meiling and her other siblings, to 'uplift adoptee voices' in the literary community and to eventually tell her and Meiling's story. 'I want to write a memoir, for sure,' she says. 'But this memoir, I want it to also be her memoir and I want to be able to tell her story and all the complexities of it as well as I can in addition to writing my story." Stefany doesn't want to waste a moment. 'I've already lost her. ... And I don't want regrets," she says of Meiling. "Very rarely do people get a second chance like I'm getting.' Read the original article on People
