A couple who disappeared in Brazil after telling family they were going to a mall are found in LEBANON with half a kilo of cocaine in their stomachs
- Brazilian Igor dos Santos and his wife Juliana Nunes have been charged with drug smuggling in Lebanon
- The couple were arrested at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport on December 19, each with half a kilo of cocaine in their stomachs
- Dos Santos and Nunes were reported missing on December 28 after traveling from Rio Grande do Sul to São Paulo on December 13 to do some shopping
- They were in touch with their families from December 13 to December 18 before cutting off communications
- Dos Santos and Nunes admitted to ingesting the cocaine but did not say who owned the shipment
A couple once reported missing by family members in Brazil are now behind bars in Lebanon on drug smuggling charges.
Igor dos Santos, 26, and Juliana Nunes, 31, were taken into custody at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on December 19 after attempting to enter the country with half a kilo of cocaine each in their stomachs.
Dos Santos and Nunes departed from Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, aboard a Qatar Airways flight connecting in Doha, Qatar.
The couple admitted to Lebanese authorities that they had swallowed the cocaine, but did not say who owned the shipment.
Juliana Nunes (left) and her husband Igor dos Santos (right) are in a Lebanese prison for smuggling half a kilo of cocaine in their stomachs. The Brazilian couple had informed their families that they would go shopping, leaving their home in Rio Grande do Sul on December 13 and arriving in São Paulo the next day. They stayed in touch until December 18, before cutting off all contact. They were arrested in Beirut on December 19
Juliana Nunes (left) and Igor dos Santos (right) have been married for two years
It is not known if they took the cocaine before boarding the plane in Brazil or upon arrival in Qatar.
According to Brazilian news agency G1, Dos Santos and Nunes got married in February 2022.
Their families were worried as they drove to São Paulo from Carazinho, Rio Grande do Sul, on December 13 to do some shopping.
They arrived in São Paulo on December 14 and stayed in touch until December 18, when they stopped communicating with loved ones.
Police report from the family of Igor dos Santos, who reported him and his wife missing before they found out the couple were in a Lebanese prison for drug smuggling
Igor dos Santos was arrested on December 19 at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport with half a kilo of cocaine in his stomach
Her family reported her missing on December 28 and learned of her legal troubles in Lebanon the next day.
Dos Santos’ mother, Claudete dos Santos, accused Nunes of cutting all lines of communication and said her son was not used to long-distance travel.
“He’s not a criminal,” she told RBS TV. “I swear on the holy of holies that my son is not a criminal, he is not a criminal.”