Source: Courier Mail

You would think being an international swimsuit model would be enough to afford Simone Farrow a pretty comfortable life, but it seems the money just wasn’t enough for the 37-year-old. Desperate for cash perhaps, after her days of being the face of Ed Hardy were over, she picked up a little hustle on the side—trafficking high-grade crystal meth around the world.

Simone was arrested in Queensland, Australia last week after skipping out on bail over a month ago. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Australian police, Simone used 19 different aliases to ship methamphetamine around the world by FedEx and even the postal service, hiding the drugs in shipments of bath salts. When Simone was arrested she denied the charges, of course, but also claimed she was hiding from a killer, not the police.

“The only reason I’ve done this is because someone was trying to murder me,” she told Australia’s Sunday Telegraph. “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.”

I’m willing to bet the pin-up girl and Penthouse “pet” was running from both, which former special agent Brad Garrett told ABC News is typical for a girl like her.

“It’s not uncommon in the modeling and entertainment industry,” he said. “If your skill set doesn’t take you any place else, where’s it going to take you? A quick buck would be distributing methamphetamine. It tells me that she was not that sophisticated, and she may be desperate for money.”

Ouch. At least seven other people are expected to be involved in the ring, but authorities say Simone was the mastermind behind the scheme. According to the Sunday Telegraph, one of the alleged members committed suicide in a Hollywood motel after being contacted by US authorities.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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