23-year-old influencer accused of ‘leading drug trafficking ring’
Topics: Social Media, Crime, Instagram, Drugs, News, World News
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: NewsX
Topics: Social Media, Crime, Instagram, Drugs, News, World News
A 23-year-old Brazilian influencer has been arrested amid accusations she's headed a 'drug trafficking ring'.
Melissa Said is a well-known social media star and boasts over 300,000 followers on Instagram. She's often seen smoking marijuana on the platform, and she's now been accused of promoting drug use.
Said reportedly went on the run on October 22 after learning that Bahia Civil Police wanted her in connection with drug trafficking allegations, and she was arrested at a friend's house the following day.
Brazil has a complicated relationship with marijuana. The drug itself is illegal, but the possession of small amounts for personal use is no longer a crime.
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The country's Supreme Court ruled last year that Brazilians could possess up to 40 grams of cannabis without facing penalties, The New York Times reported.
Said appeared in court over the weekend, where a judge ruled that she was to remain in temporary custody. She is being investigated for promoting drug use and association with drug trafficking, CNN Brazil said.
Said's also accused of selling, storing, and distributing marijuana in El Salvador, in addition to her supposedly advising her followers on how to evade police.
Said has denied the allegations against her and described her arrest as 'a shame', as she told Brazilian news outlet G1: "No one should be arrested for smoking marijuana."
Her defense say that the crimes she's accused of are solely based on Said's social media posts, but police believe she is the organizer of a criminal group.
She was the target of law enforcement's 'Operation Eva Afectiva'.
Speaking about the operation, Ernandes Junior, director for the State Department for Prevention and Suppression of Drug Trafficking (DENARC), said: "The objective of this operation is to combat drug trafficking, with the main target being a digital influencer who promotes crime."
He went on to say of the influencer, as per news.com.au: "It was discovered that in addition to promoting crime and drug use, she also sells and distributes narcotics in Bahia, with some people from São Paulo as one of her suppliers."
If convicted, Said could find herself behind bars for as long as 25 years.
The investigations into the social media star are said to have started last year after she was caught with a large amount of drugs at Salvador airport.
The operation has also led to the arrest of four others; two men were arrested in Lauro de Freitas, while another two were arrested in São Paulo.