A former Indiana beauty queen is accused of using her job as a flight attendant to bring money into the country for a Mexican drug gang that is thought to be responsible for bringing thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the country and moving tens of millions of dollars.
The 34-year-old Glenis Zapata, who was crowned Miss Indiana Latina 2011, is accused of carrying drug money for “the Espinosa DTO” on commercial flights while working as a flight attendant with a “Known Crew Member” (KCM) badge and authority, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said after the new indictment was made public on Friday.
The indictment also names 17 other people, such as the group’s 41-year-old boss, its main manager (both from Mexico), and the head of operations in Chicago (from Texas).
It is said that the group worked from 2018 to 2023. Traffickers brought drugs into the country on semitrailer trucks and a private charter plane that flew from Toluca, Mexico, via Houston to the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana. In 2021, the plane was seized by officials. Officials say the cocaine was hidden in bags and put into a Lincoln Navigator. It was then driven to a hotel in downtown Chicago.
The plot was found when police stopped a Toyota Highlander a few blocks from the hotel, found 80 kg of cocaine in suitcases inside, and arrested the driver. Later, police caught another man in his hotel room and took 20 tons of cocaine from him.
According to court papers, the traffickers worked in towns and cities all over the U.S. They used warehouses, commercial garages, and “stash locations” like apartments and offices to store and pick up packages and send cash.
In 2021, police said they found large amounts of cocaine related to the ring in Chicago, Indiana, Florida, Texas, and Michigan. In 2019 and 2020, police in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Tennessee, and Florida found hundreds of thousands of dollars that were linked to the ring. They kept track of their cocaine, drug bills, cash payments and transfers in both paper and electronic ledgers.
Authorities say they kept their contacts from the police by using encrypted cellphones and apps.
Two bank workers in Indiana are being charged with helping to wash drug money. One of them is said to be Zapata’s sister by the Chicago ABC station WLS.
