Indiana Beauty Pageant Winner Arrested over Alleged Connections to Mexican Drug Cartel; also involved in Drug Trafficking Network
Former Miss Indiana Latina 2011 is facing federal drug trafficking charges, suspected to be linked to a Mexican drug cartel.
A Lafayette resident, Glenis Zapata, 34, has been accused of aiding traffickers in transporting drug money across the Midwest, southern United States, and into Mexico. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, alternative methods were employed to transport the funds, such as semi-trucks and a private charter airplane.
According to the indictment, Zapata, a flight attendant, is accused of utilizing her position to assist the traffickers. An alleged criminal organization is suspected of trafficking large quantities of cocaine and engaging in money laundering activities, resulting in substantial financial gains.
Two bank employees, Ilenis Zapata and Georgina Banuelos, both from Lafayette, have been named in the indictment. They are accused of exchanging lower denomination bills for high denomination bills. Suspected individuals involved in the drug trafficking organization, include Oswaldo Espinosa, Jorge Borbon-Ochoa, and Ricardo Tello.
Federal prosecutors have revealed that Espinosa’s organization was involved in the large-scale transportation of cocaine from Mexico to multiple cities in the United States between 2018 and 2023. The operation utilized warehouses, garages, and stash houses in Chicago to store both the drugs and the proceeds.
This case is being investigated as part of an ongoing operation targeting organized crime and drug trafficking.
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