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Indiana Beauty queen arrested in Mexican cartel bust that included one of feds’ most wanted fugitives

Source link : https://usa-news.biz/2024/05/23/indiana/indiana-beauty-queen-arrested-in-mexican-cartel-bust-that-included-one-of-feds-most-wanted-fugitives/

An Indiana beauty queen was swept up in a sweeping drug bust with ties to a Mexican cartel that’s been years in the making.

Glenis Zapata, 34, who was crowned Miss Indiana Latina in 2011, allegedly used her job as a flight attendant to move drug money from Chicago to the southern states and into Mexico, according to a federal indictment. 

She’s charged with two counts of money laundering stemming from a $170,000 cash transport on August 7, 2019, and at least $140,000 on September 10, 2019.

Zapata was one of 18 suspects arrested when federal law enforcement took down their main target, Oswaldo Espinosa, who was among the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) most wanted fugitives.

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Glenis Zapata, who was crowned Miss Indiana Latina in 2011, was arrested as part of a Mexico-based international drug operation.

Glenis Zapata, who was crowned Miss Indiana Latina in 2011, was arrested as part of a Mexico-based international drug operation. (Rio Wray Photography)

Zapata, along with two bank tellers – Zapata’s sister, Ilenis Zapata and Georgina Banuelos – were the latest to be arrested in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces’ take down of Oswaldo Espinosa. 

Espinosa is the alleged ring leader of a multi-million dollar, Mexico-based drug trafficking ring that flooded US streets with thousands of kilograms of cocaine, according to the latest federal indictment filed on May 16.

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From 2018 to 2023, Espinosa recruited seemingly ordinary, under-the-radar workers like Zapata, as part of his alleged criminal enterprise, which used warehouses and garages all over the Windy City to hide money and drugs. 

Cash and cocaine were loaded into semi-trailer trucks and on planes from the Midwest stash houses to the southern part of the U.S. and into Mexico, “including via commercial flights and using the assistance of Glenis Zapata,” the indictment alleges. 

Oswaldo Espinosa was a wanted fugitive by the DEA who allegedly ran a multi-million dollar, Mexico-based international drug trafficking organization.

Oswaldo Espinosa was a wanted fugitive by the DEA who allegedly ran a multi-million dollar, Mexico-based international drug trafficking organization. (DEA)

Glenis Zapata is accused of using her job as a flight attendant to transport over $300,000.

Glenis Zapata is accused of using her job as a flight attendant to transport over $300,000.  (Rio Wray Photography)

Espinosa was the head of his own Mexican international drug trafficking organization (DTO) called the Espinosa DTO, according to court documents. 

The last filing, which included the charges against Zapata, detailed eight drug trafficking operations from 2021 to 2023 and 15 cash transports between November 2019 and March 2022. 

‘MOST RUTHLESS’ MEXICAN CARTELS OPERATE IN ALL 50 STATES, BRING TURF WARS TO US: DEA

The investigation into Espinosa was spearheaded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, which was created to attack major drug rings in the U.S. 

The ESPINOSA DTO is a small cartel in comparison to powerhou

…. to be continued
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Author : usa-news

Publish date : 2024-05-23 20:52:38

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