A fugitive, bikini-clad Brazilian influencer has been arrested after being accused of being the kingpin of an interstate drug-running and cash laundering operation.
Melissa Mentioned — who boasts greater than 340K Instagram followers — had been on the run since Wednesday when 5 of her properties have been raided by the Bahia Civil Police in northeast Brazil, in keeping with the Brazilian information outlet Correio.
The 23-year-old social media star was the suspected chief of a significant legal gang concerned with the distribution of hashish and cash laundering. She is accused of actively facilitating and inspiring the smuggling of unlawful substances in Bahia and São Paulo.
Mentioned was nabbed whereas hiding out at a pal’s home in Bahia, following an intensive surveillance and intelligence effort.
Police launched their investigation into the influencer in 2024 after she was allegedly caught with medication at an airport, accused of advising her followers on evade regulation enforcement throughout drug transport, and selling herself by handing out “kits” containing joints on the streets.
Wednesday’s raids — a part of “Operation Erva Afetiva” (translated as “weed-loving,” and the identical phrase she utilized in her Instagram bio) — led to the arrest of three suspected accomplices, one in all whom was charged with drug trafficking after police seized 1.4 kilograms of “skank” marijuana, police mentioned.
Police mentioned additionally they recovered 270 grams of cannabis — a concentrated type of hashish made out of the resin of the marijuana plant — small parts of marijuana, digital scales, plastic luggage, cell telephones, financial institution playing cards, and two autos believed to have been utilized in legal exercise.
Police haven’t launched the id of the third particular person taken into custody.
Recognized for her activism selling hashish legalization, Mentioned initially evaded seize throughout the raids and was thought of a fugitive till her arrest on Thursday.
“The target of this operation is to fight drug trafficking, with the principle goal being a digital influencer who promotes crime,” director of the State Division for Prevention and Suppression of Drug Trafficking, Ernandes Junior, mentioned.
“It was found that along with selling crime and drug use, she additionally sells and distributes narcotics in Bahia, with some individuals from São Paulo as one in all her suppliers.”
The investigation into her alleged involvement in drug trafficking is ongoing.
If convicted, she might withstand 25 years in jail.
The influencer is ready to face questioning along with her lawyer Thursday night time — after which she’ll bear a forensic examination and keep locked up till her custody listening to, Correio reported.
In her final video posted to Instagram on Oct. 2, the weed-loving social media star mentioned the legalization of marijuana whereas showing to smoke what seems to be a joint.
Mentioned was married to influencer Tássio Bacelar, who tragically died in a bicycle accident in October 2023, in keeping with the outlet.
