Ex-American Idol Contestant Was Indicted for Work as Drug Courier, Unsealed Records Show

(NORFOLK, Va.) — A recently unsealed court document says a former contestant on both American Idol and Fear Factor worked as a courier for a drug ring and was trying to deliver nearly 2 pounds (830 grams) of fentanyl when she was arrested last year.

The VirginianPilot reports 32-year-old Antonella Barba was back in custody Monday, following a federal indictment charging her with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. Barba was originally arrested last October in Norfolk Virginia.

She was previously charged with shoplifting in New York and has a felony marijuana case pending in Kansas.

Barba, of New Jersey, reached the top 16 on American Idol in 2007, the year Jordin Sparks won. She competed on Fear Factor in 2012.

Her public defender didn’t immediately respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.

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