Instagram-Obsessed Woman Attempted To Smuggle Cocaine Onto Cruise To Flex For Social Media

I love a good heist movie, and a good one ticks all of the important boxes: a sweet soundtrack. A cool premise. Plenty of "preparation montages" where you see bits of the plan come together, but not the whole picture until it's executed.

But the best part of heist movies are the OMG moments. Just when you think the protagonists are going to get caught, some quick, on-the-feet thinking, or pure luck or chance or circumstance extricates them from it.

Now there are some people who take their love of heists movies a little too far and use the films as a means of fooling themselves into believing that they, too, could pull off a great crime. They'll have a foolproof plan, they'll do it all with confidence, they'll make the necessary connections, and they'll reap the benefits.

The problem is though, most people don't get caught in heist movies and if they do, it's because of some stupid mistake that could've easily been avoided. Now I don't know if Instagram model Mélina Roberge and Isabelle Lagace ever watched a heist film or not, but it might explain why she thought it was a good idea to try and smuggle 31 kilos of cocaine onto an Australian cruise ship back in August of 2016.

Drug mules aren't exactly new - there are plenty of people who make a living smuggling drugs for rich dealers who are smart enough to not get their hands dirty. What is new, however, in Roberge's case is that she's one of the few people where Instagram was apparently a motivating factor in her crimes.

At least that's what judge Catherine Traill said when she sentenced Roberge to eight years in prison for her part in the transportation of the huge cocaine shipment.

Roberge, in court, told Traill that the primary reason she went on the trip is so she could hyped herself on Instagram and get approval from other people, something the judge thought was pretty stupid.

It is sad they seek to attain such a vacuous existence where how many likes they receive is their currency. She wanted to be the envy of others. I doubt she is now the envy of others," Traill said.

Roberge went on to say that the trip wasn't her idea. Her 65-year-old sugar daddy, André Tamine, back in Quebec instructed her to make the trafficking attempt seem like a glamorous vacation. However, Tamine, Lagacé, and Roberge were all arrested when they made it to Australia on August 28th, 2016. 

Drug-sniffing dogs didn't just find 30 kilograms in the women's cabin, but also 65 kilos in Tamine's room as well. As of now, Tamine has yet to be sentenced - his ruling is coming in October. Lagacé is getting seven years and six months - around the same amount as her travel companion - for her part in the crime.

The part of this story that's getting a lot of people worked up though, is how far the 24-year-old went just to flex for social media.

There has to be a reason why a lot of people are highlighting that comment from Judge Traill. On paper, it seems utterly ridiculous that someone would risk imprisonment just to make other people on the internet think she's living a glamorous life.

But there are plenty of people who are constantly writing about the social media platform and everyone's obsession with using it as a means of gaining approval from others.

We all know people who, in real life, aren't all that impressive or haven't done much with their lives. But on Instagram, they look like absolute stars.

Heck, I personally find myself in awe of these people and jealous of them, even though I know that they're not all that great in evidence.

It must be why everyone's so happy to share Judge Traill blasting someone for leading a "vacuous existence" that ultimately landed them in an Australian prison.

Maybe Roberge felt like she could get away with it though, because at the end of the day, she's a pretty girl, and there are plenty of people who felt the need to point that out after discovering she's a drug mule.

Maybe that's the real reason why people are happy she got busted, to heck with these beautiful people and their glamorous lives! (h/t cbc)