Two women in the US, who are Instagram influencers, were arrested after they were caught with $3 million in cocaine packed into secret compartments of their SUV, New York Post reported. Racquelle Dolores Anteola, 34, and Melissa Dufour, 36, were arrested early Thursday while driving on Interstate 10 in Mobile County, Alabama.
Notably, Ms. Anteola, also known as Rahky, is a singer and rapper based in Los Angeles, according to her Instagram profile, and has over 119,000 followers. Meanwhile, Ms. Dufour is a fitness model and the owner and designer of a clothing brand called Sexy Sweats, and has 11,000 followers on Instagram.
According to NY Post, the pair claimed to have met in Miami and embarked on a joint road trip to Houston for a house party, where they consumed excessive amounts of alcohol. They were pulled over by a Mobile County Sheriff's deputy on June 1 near Mobile, Alabama, for an alleged traffic violation. During the traffic stop, a K-9 unit alerted the officers to the possible presence of drugs in their vehicle.
When the officers examined their black Ford Expedition, they found 216 pounds of cocaine packed in 84 bundles, under the floorboards of the car. The alleged drug stash was worth $3million.
''The vehicle's back seat was modified with a steel aftermarket compartment. The SUV's floor had also been lowered and welded back together to provide a storage room. The second compartment was located in the back of the SUV, where the side panels were hollowed out,'' as per a report by local media outlet Lagniappe.
The women were taken into custody by the MCSO and U.S. Border Patrol. Both of them now face a minimum of 10 years behind bars on federal drug trafficking charges.
The incident comes after a woman was arrested in South Carolina for trying to carry illegal drugs under a fake rubber belly. The deputies in South Carolina said they arrested a pregnant woman after three pounds of cocaine fell from a rubber belly which the suspect had allegedly taped to herself.
