Two social media influencers are possibly facing federal charges after they were found trafficking over 200 pounds of cocaine in Alabama.
Racquelle Dolores Anteola, 34, a singer and rapper from Van Nuys, California and Melissa Dufour, 36, a fitness model from Miramar, Florida were arrested after police stopped their Ford Expedition while driving on Interstate 10 Thursday. The pair were driving to Houston from Atlanta when police found cocaine in “hidden compartments” of their vehicle. The narcotics were valued at around $3 million, according to the online publication Lagniappe.
“The vehicle’s back seat was modified with a steel aftermarket compartment,” according to the report. “The SUV’s floor had also been lowered and welded back together to provide storage room. The second compartment was located in the back of the SUV, where the side panels were hollowed out.”
The Mobile County Sherriff’s Office and U.S. Border Patrol took both suspects into custody at the Mobile County Metro jail where they are both being held on cocaine trafficking charges. According to reports, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security may charge the suspects at the federal level.
The news comes less than one month after a South Carolina woman was found faking a pregnancy by wearing a prosthetic belly stuffed with cocaine.
In May, Shine My Crown reported that Cemeka Dannette Mitchem was arrested on drug charges after police officials found the narcotic inside a body suit made to give the appearance of being pregnant.
Police records say Mitchem was charged along with her partner Anthony Miller after patrol officers stopped them both during a traffic stop on U.S. Interstate 85, according to Anderson County Detention Center.
Once they were stopped, officers say they became suspicious about the “expecting mother” and the conflicting information she provided about her due date. That was the first red flag, Anderson County Detention Center said.
“As Mitchem realized deputies were becoming more suspicious of her conflicting story, Mitchem immediately took off running and very quickly drugs fell from the fake rubber stomach,” ACSO told Law and Crime.
The suspect was eventually captured. Upon a search, they found three pounds of cocaine (more than 1500 grams). Authorities did not indicate if all the cocaine was in the prosthetic.
“Deputies found a suspect trying to disguise drugs in the most unusual way!” the caption to a post ACSO wrote online. “A woman was ‘carrying’ a large amount of cocaine taped behind this rubber pregnancy belly.”
Reports also say that marijuana was found in the couple’s vehicle.
Mitchem and Miller have since been arrested and charged and awaiting their day in court. If convicted each suspect faces up to 30 years in prison and must pay a $200,000 fine.
In South Carolina, “trafficking over 400 grams of cocaine is punished by not less than twenty-five years nor more than thirty years with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of twenty-five years, no part of which may be suspended nor probation granted, and a fine of two hundred thousand dollars,” according to Law and Crime.
