PHOENIX: A jetsetting model’s over-the-top flirting tipped off federal border patrol officers, who discovered $134,000 in cocaine hidden in her Mercedes Benz, authorities said.
Officers thought Anett Pikula seemed “overly talkative” when she was stopped at an Arizona crossing.
“Flirtation was what was going on,” Customs and Border Protection spokesman Garrett Reinhart told the Associated Press.
Suspicious officers sent the curvy 39-year-old for a second look, and a drug-sniffing dog quickly keyed in on a secret compartment at the engine firewall.
Investigators at the Port of Lukeville opened up the high-end coup and found 13 pounds of cocaine, packed into bricks and shrinkwrapped.
Pikula, who was born in Mexico, had just been granted U.S. citizenship in April and lives in a Phoenix suburb.
The divorced brunette stunner is an audacious world-traveler, posting seductive shots on social media from exotic locales across the globe, including Dubai, Amsterdam and Brazil.
“My whole life.. romance, suspense, drama, action, cartoons,” she wrote at the top of an Instagram feed full of pictures of Pikula modeling bikinis, eating luxe meals and flashing designer clothes and purses.
“All true stories,” the alleged drug mule added.
Customs officers in Arizona took Pikula into custody and turned her over to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
A passenger who was with her during the surprising bust was released without charges.
Customs officers seized the drugs and Mercedes.
