A TikTok influencer has been arrested as part of a probe into an alleged money laundering scheme linked to her drug lord father.
Michelle Jamileth Macias Penarrieta was arrested alongside her mother, Inda Mariela Penarrieta Tuarez, by police investigating a suspected $25.8 million (around £19 million) money laundering scheme on Sunday. The pair were apprehended in a small town in northeastern Colombia.
Family ties to a fugitive gang leader
They are the daughter and wife of infamous Ecuadorian narcotrafficker Adolfo 'Fito' Macias, the leader of the Los Choneros gang. The gang were designated a terrorist group by the US last year after Fito escaped an Ecuadorian prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking and murder two years ago.
His escape prompted Ecuador's government to declare a state of emergency as violence erupted in the streets of Guayaquil, the country's largest city, and gang members held news anchors at gunpoint during a live broadcast as they reported. He was eventually found and taken back into custody, and later extradited to the US. He is now facing seven charges, including drugs and weapons trafficking, in a New York court and is facing 20 years to life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty and the trial is set for early next year.
Influencer's luxury lifestyle under scrutiny
But now his family have been arrested, including his daughter who used social media to show off her luxury lifestyle. The influencer posed on TikTok with huge stacks of cash to her 65 million followers, according to The Sun and Colombian outlet El Colombiano. Her account was taken down after she was arrested on suspicion of money laundering charges.
Ecuadorian police believe Michelle's plush lifestyle was funded by dirty money and tied to her father's criminal activities and also allege that Michelle and Inda attempted to ally with Colombian criminal organisations to facilitate money laundering.
Previous indictments and arrest celebration
Investigators in the country indicted 17 people in March in a money laundering case related to Fito's finances, as they accused at least four companies of moving the drug lord's money around to make it appear legitimate, The Sun reported. The mother and daughter were located through a surveillance operation and Colombia's president, Abelardo De La Espriella, celebrated the arrest in a statement on X and shared pictures and footage of them being taken into custody.
