Glenis Zapata, 2011’s Miss Indiana Latina, inset, is accused of transporting drug proceeds for Mexican drug traffickers. Federal agents seized suitcases full of cocaine carried by a charter plane from Mexico to an airport in Indiana, seen in the background photo. (Airplane photo from WLS/YouTube; Zapata’s photo from Miss Indiana Latina’s Facebook page)
A onetime Indiana beauty queen is accused of using her flight attendant job to smuggle proceeds for a Mexican drug trafficking organization believed to be responsible for smuggling thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States and laundering tens of millions of dollars.
Glenis Zapata, 34, 2011’s Miss Indiana Latina, allegedly transported cash drug proceeds for “the Espinosa DTO” on commercial flights as a flight attendant with a “Known Crew Member” (KCM) badge and authority, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced after the superseding indictment was unsealed on Friday.
The indictment also names 17 others, including the 41-year-old leader, its primary manager, both from Mexico, and the head of the Chicago operations, who hails from Texas.
The organization allegedly operated from 2018 to 2023. The traffickers smuggled drugs using semitrailer trucks and a private charter plane that had flown from Toluca, Mexico, via Houston to the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana, where authorities seized it in 2021. The cocaine — hidden in suitcases — was loaded into a Lincoln Navigator and driven to a hotel in downtown Chicago, officials said.
Authorities uncovered the operation when agents pulled over a Toyota Highlander a few blocks away from the hotel, seized 80 kilos of cocaine in suitcases, and arrested the driver. Agents later arrested another man in his hotel room and seized another 20 kilograms of cocaine.
Court documents said the traffickers operated in towns and cities across the U.S., using warehouses, commercial garages, and “stash locations” such as apartments and offices to store and collect packages and ship out cash.
Authorities said they seized large volumes of cocaine linked to the ring throughout 2021 in Chicago, Indiana, Florida, Texas, and Michigan. Law enforcement seized hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to the ring throughout 2019 and 2020 in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Tennessee, and Florida. They maintained paper and electronic ledgers to track their cocaine, drug debts, cash payments and transfers.
They used encrypted cellphones and applications to shield their communications from law enforcement, authorities said.
Two bank employees in Indiana — one of whom Chicago ABC affiliate WLS reported is Zapata’s sister — are accused of helping launder the drug proceeds.
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