A duo was charged with drug offenses after cops in South Carolina uncovered 1500 grams of cocaine inside a fake stomach.
Cemeka Dannette Mitchem and Anthony Miller were arrested on April 12 on one count each of trafficking more than 400 grams, Law&Crime reports.
RELATED: $11.8M Of Cocaine Found Inside Shipment Of Baby Wipes At U.S.-Mexico Border – Largest Drug Bust In 20 Years
Woman With Drugs Stuffed In Fake “Pregnancy” Belly Posed As Expecting Mother, Cops Say
Mitchem reportedly posed as a “mother-to-be” when cops pulled the pair over on U.S. Interstate 85, per the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Public Information Officer Shale Remien, the traffic stop was prompted by Miller’s “erratic driving,” as reported by ABC News. Miller allegedly weaved between “multiple lanes” and almost collided with a semi-tractor trailer truck.
Deputies became suspicious after the pair offered “conflicting information” regarding her “due date,” police say.
She allegedly took off running as authorities became more suspicious of her conflicting story. Drugs quickly fell from the fake rubber stomach as she attempted to flee.
Deputies seized “more than 1500 grams” of cocaine, just over three pounds, per the ASCO press release.
“It’s not every day we see something like that,” Remien remarked, as per ABC News.
Two suspects were arrested after deputies in upstate South Carolina found cocaine in a fake rubber pregnancy belly during a traffic stop. Authorities say the first "red flag" began when the two gave conflicting information regarding Mitchem's due date.https://t.co/1znQGbBLDF pic.twitter.com/hFvag5z1tw
— The National Desk (@TND) May 15, 2023
Judge Denies Bond For Both, Facing Upwards Of 25 To 30 Years In Prison Per South Carolina Law
Meanwhile, the agency posted a photo of the rubber device alongside the pair’s mugshots to the department’s Facebook page Sunday.
“Deputies found a suspect trying to disguise drugs in the most unusual way!” the caption reads. “A woman was ‘carrying’ a large amount of cocaine taped behind this rubber pregnancy belly.”
Mitchem and Miller were still in custody as of Monday (May 15), according to Law&Crime.
A judge denied their bond, and their next court date is not immediately apparent.
Trafficking more than 400 grams of cocaine is punishable by “not less than twenty-five years nor more than thirty years with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of twenty-five years, no part of which may be suspended nor probation granted, and a fine of two hundred thousand dollars,” per South Carolina law.
It is actually not the first time drugs have been smuggled by way of a fake pregnancy belly.
In 2013, a Canadian woman was arrested in Colombia for smuggling drugs inside a fake pregnancy stomach, according to the BBC.
