Influencer, 23, Breaks Her Silence After Arrest for Alleged Involvement in Interstate Drug Trafficking Ring By Toria Sheffield

A Brazilian influencer, who was recently arrested in connection with a drug smuggling ring, has broken her silence.

Melissa Said, 23, a social media star with more than 375,000 followers, was taken into police custody on Thursday, Oct. 23, in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia in the northeast part of Brazil, per local news outlet Correio. 

She had allegedly been hiding at a friend’s house in the Itapuã neighborhood of the city since Wednesday, Oct. 22, after learning that police were looking for her, per the outlet.

“On digital platforms, she advocated drug use and used her reach to sell marijuana, with suppliers identified in Bahia and São Paulo,” police said, per Correio. “Investigations also indicate that she purchased the drug and passed it on to some followers through social media contacts.”

In a video shared by The Sun, Said could be seen in handcuffs being led out of an official building by authorities.

“It’s a shame … no one in the world should be arrested for smoking marijuana,” she told reporters, per The Sun. 

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Said admitted to using marijuana but denied any connection to a drug ring, according to the outlet. 

Said’s social media posts frequently feature her smoking marijuana and discussing the potential benefits of cannabis use. 

PEOPLE reached out to Said for comment on Sunday, Oct. 26, but did not receive an immediate response.

Said’s arrest was part of a larger operation, which has resulted in several arrests, per The Sun.

In a statement obtained by The Sun, 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 added, “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.”

Authorities initially began looking into Said and her potential involvement in drug trafficking when she was allegedly detained in an airport for possession of drugs in 2024, according to the New York Post.

PEOPLE reached out to the Brazilian Secretary of Public Security and the Bahia Public Security Secretariat for comment on Sunday, but did not receive an immediate response.

Personal possession of small amounts of cannabis was decriminalized in Brazil in 2024, and medicinal cannabis is legal for patients with certain conditions. However, selling cannabis for recreational use is still a crime, per the Associated Press.