Beauty Queen’s Shocking Arrest: £12 Million Cocaine Bust After Plane Mishap
In a recent incident, former Bolivian beauty queen Jade Isabela Callau Barriga was arrested after a private aircraft she was aboard made an emergency landing in Entre Ríos, Argentina.
The Cessna 210, also carrying Brazilian national Carlos Costa Diaz, reportedly ran out of fuel, forcing the unscheduled landing. Upon inspection, authorities discovered 359 kilograms of pure cocaine, valued at approximately £11.7 million, divided into ten packages.
Barriga, who won a beauty contest in San Borja, Bolivia, in 2019, is alleged to be associated with a drug trafficking organization from her hometown. Investigators believe she was on the flight as a trusted gang member to oversee the illicit cargo.
Both Barriga and Diaz were detained and are under heightened security due to concerns about potential gang attempts to free them.
This case bears similarities to that of Angie Sanclemente Valencia, a Colombian model and former beauty queen who was arrested in 2010 for leading a drug trafficking operation. Valencia recruited models to smuggle cocaine from Argentina to Europe, utilizing their appearance to avoid suspicion.