Former Miss Bolivia arrested on gun-trafficking charges

The 22-year-old has been arrested on arms-trafficking charges, while also being investigated in a drug case involving her fugitive boyfriend.

A former Miss Bolivia has been arrested on arms-trafficking charges, while also being investigated in a drug case involving her fugitive boyfriend.

Alondra Mercado Campos, 22 – who was crowned Miss Bolivia Mundo 2020 and Miss Charm Bolivia in 2023 – has been jailed in Trinidad Women’s Prison in Beni, Bolivia, on suspicion of gun trafficking, according to local news outlet Semana.

Ms Mercado Campos’ arrest came a month after Bolivia’s Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking (FLECN) raided the home the pageant contestant shared with her boyfriend, the New York Post reports, and discovered a large cache of firearms and ammunitions, authorities said.

Alondra Mercado Campos, 22, was crowned Miss Bolivia Mundo 2020. Picture: Newsflash

During her recent court appearance, a judge ruled that Ms Mercado Campos should be held for 30 days in pre-trial detention after being deemed a flight risk.

Prosecutors are waiting for the results of forensic tests on the 22-year-old’s BMW SUV to determine if she should also be charged with drug offences.

Ms Mercado Campos has been jailed on gun-trafficking charges. Picture: Newsflash

The 22-year-old ex-beauty queen is also being investigated on drug-trafficking charges. Picture: Newsflash

Investigators believe that Ms Mercado Campos, who has more than 41,000 followers on Instagram, could be connected to a drug-trafficking ring led by her boyfriend, identified by local news outlets as Andres Vasquez.

Photos shared on Ms Mercado Campos’ Instagram and Facebook pages show the loved-up couple posing happily on a boat and hanging out in a waterfront park with their small white dog.

Gerardo Balderas, the departmental prosecutor of Beni, said videos found on a cellphone seized from Ms Mercado Campos showed her and her boyfriend at several parties with weapons that were confiscated during the November raid.

Ms Mercado Campos’ boyfriend, Andres Vasquez, is a fugitive wanted on a drug-trafficking warrant. Picture: Facebook

Mr Vasquez is considered a fugitive after escaping during a drug raid on his and Ms Mercado Campos’ apartment in November. Picture: Facebook

Much of Ms Mercado Campos’s social media content consists of photos of the brunette modelling skimpy bikinis and glittering evening gowns.

Her most recent post, dated December 7, included pictures of the beauty queen dressed in a skin-tight minidress standing by a pool.

The caption, written in Spanish, read, in part: “Neither past nor future. Only here and now. This moment. What happens now, what you feel and what you live. Enjoy it. Tomorrow we shall see.”

Mr Vasquez is listed as a fugitive from justice after going on the run in late November. He is wanted on an arrest warrant for drug trafficking.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Former Miss Bolivia arrested on gun-trafficking charges