Swimsuit model accused of running drug ring captured in Australia

GlobalPost

Former swimsuit model, Simone Farrow, was arrested last week after being accused of running a global drug ring and fleeing the United States after a $150 thousand bail. 

The 37-year-old Farrow, a former Penthouse Pet and bikini model for Ed Hardy, was found in a hotel on the Gold Coast Highway in eastern Australia last week, said MSNBC.

She was extradited back to New South Wales to face a judge.

"The only reason I've done this is because someone was trying to murder me. I've been in ... relationships with numerous underworld figures or whatever you want to call them and I feel that maybe they feel threatened by my situation," she told The Sunday Telegraph. "I wasn't trying to flee the country at all; I was trying to protect myself from being killed or harmed."

According to Fox News, court documents presented at the US bail hearing said the crime ring had been run from Farrow's Hollywood apartment, located off Sunset Boulevard.

Farrow had recently changed her name to 'Lawson' and, according to ABC News, had gone by nearly 20 different aliases while escaping the law.

Farrow stood accused of shipping large quantities of methamphetamine, also known as 'crystal meth,' around the world through FedEx by hiding them in bath products.

Most of the product was being shipped to Australian addresses.

According to AFP, 39 other packages were sent to Australian recipients "under similar circumstances," than those ceased by US customs but were not detected.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, one of the seven members of the alleged crime ring, Xander Rian, committed suicide in a Hollywood motel after being contacted by US authorities.

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