Sydney woman Kalynda Davis, 22, has been allowed to return home to Australia, after being detained in China, allegedly on suspicion of drug smuggling.
More than a month after it’s believed Kalynda was originally detained, her parents, Larry and Jenny Davis, have released a statement via the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, saying that: “We are happy to have Kalynda back home.”
The statement continued: “We have always known Kalynda to be innocent of these allegations. Her return home today is a clear statement of her innocence.”
Larry and Jenny had engaged solicitors in Sydney to assist with her release and it’s believed Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop may have also had a hand in supporting consular officials in China who were negotiating with authorities for Kalynda’s release.
It’s believed that Kalynda had been detained for a month, suspected of smuggling a commercial quantity of methamphetamines, alleged to total up to 75 kgs. A crime which, by Chinese law, would most likely be punishable by death via firing squad.
News of her detention came after she was reported missing from her Glenmore Park home, by Larry and Jenny, who filed a report with police. It was only then that she was discovered in custody in China, alongside Richard Gardiner, 25, also from Sydney’s Western suburbs.
By all accounts, such criminal behavior was totally out of character for Kalynda and her arrest took many of her friends and family, who weren’t even aware she was in China, by surprise.
High school friend Blake Tatafu took to Facebook to say she is “definitely incapable of doing something like this”.
Blake, who has known Kalynda for ten years, posted to his Facebook page: “It’s a complete shame that Australians who’ve seen the article about Peter, Kalynda and ‘ICE’, do not know the person Kalynda REALLY is.”
The pair had reportedly met only a few weeks earlier via an online dating site. Her co-accused Peter remains in custody in China.
Larry and Jenny also acknowledge him in their statement, saying: “To the family of Mr Peter Gardner, we will continue to pray for Peter and your family. You are always in our thoughts.”
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