Instagram Influencer Charged After Attempting To Board Plane To Dubai With Cocaine

Influencer Lais Crisostomo Aguiar and her 44-year-old friend, car washer Peterson de Souza Fontes, were charged with one count of international drug trafficking.

The pair were arrested at Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport in the municipality of Guarulhos on 5 August.

Police stopped them from boarding the flight after an x-ray scan revealed 461 grams of cocaine in capsules inside food supplement containers in their suitcases.

The two have since been held in preventive custody in a women's prison in Sao Paulo and a provisional detention centre in Guarulhos respectively.

Santos said the argument Aguiar 'was unaware of the contents of the suitcase is not credible, given that the seized cocaine was hidden in a suitcase with the [suspect's] personal effects.'

Fontes admitted in court that the massive quantity of cocaine was his, and claimed that like him, Aguiar and her fiancé, Henrique Catoriello, were users.

However, Aguiar said his claims were false.

The court concluded that 'the amount of cocaine found in [Aguiar's] possession cannot be classified as being a user, making it clear that the drug would be the object of circulation in society'.

The 27-year-old told the court that she had been living in Dubai since 2020 and her fiancé owned a currency business exchange there.

The influencer has 386,000 followers on Instagram and is known for displaying her luxurious lifestyle.

Her posts often see her posing with high end cars, wearing expensive clothes, and embarking on extravagant holidays.

However, most of her posts have since been deleted.

It is still unknown what type of punishment Aguiar is set to face, if convicted.