How Indiana beauty queen Glenis Zapata found herself swept up in cartel raid after 'using her flight attendant job' to smuggle drug money from US to Mexico

A former Indiana beauty queen has been accused of using her job as a flight attendant to move drug money from the US to Mexico for a cartel.

Glenis Zapata, 34, is charged with two counts of money laundering for allegedly transporting a total of $310,000 of cocaine profits from Chicago in 2019, per a federal indictment that reads like the plot of Jackie Brown. 

Zapata, Miss Indiana Latina 2011, was one of 18 suspects arrested in the operation - which included alleged ring leader Oswaldo Espinosa, one of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s most wanted fugitives.

Zapata's lawyer Michael John Petro told The Chicago Sun-Times that she has been left 'devastated' by the indictment.

'She dropped her son off at school, and they grabbed her,' he said. 'Whatever message they are trying to send her is a very strong message.' 

Glenis Zapata, 34, is charged with two counts of money laundering for allegedly transporting a total of $310,000 of cocaine profits from Chicago in 2019

Among those arrested was also Zapata's sister Ilenis Zapata, 33, a bank teller in Lafayette accused of helping the cartel launder $400,000 in drug money by exchanging lower denominations of cash into larger ones. 

Bank teller Georgina Banuelos, 39, was also charged in the DEA operation. 

Espinosa, the alleged leader of the small-scale cartel known as the Espinosa DTO, allegedly recruited regular citizens like the Zapatas to help him move thousands of kilograms of cocaine and the profits from 2018 to 2013.

Zapata's lawyer Michael John Petro told the Chicago Sun-Times that she has been left 'devastated' by the indictment

Zapata, Miss Indiana Latina 2011, was one of 18 suspects arrested in the raid - which included alleged ring leader Oswaldo Espinosa

The cartel leader reportedly used semi-trailer trucks and both private and commercial planes to move cash from stash houses in Chicago to southern states and Mexico. 

They allegedly moved the cocaine to the US inside legitimate packaged goods moved by semitrailers.

According to prosecutors, 'Glenis Zapata possessed a “Known Crew Member” badge and used her authority to help the traffickers move cash drug proceeds from the Midwest to the southern part of the U.S. and into Mexico, the indictment states.'

The Zapata sisters were released on Tuesday on a $20,000 bond. 

The investigation that led to their arrest began when federal officials seized a private charter airplane in 2021 at the Gary-Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana.

According to prosecutors, 'Glenis Zapata possessed a “Known Crew Member” badge and used her authority to help the traffickers move cash drug proceeds'

Pictured: Jackie Brown, played by Pam Grier, was a female antagonist that smuggled money for her arms dealer boss while working as a flight attendant - a fictional story eerily similar to Zapata's

The indictment mentions eight drug trafficking operations from 2021 to 2023 and 15 cash transports from November 2019 and March 2022.

In 2011, Zapata gave an interview to the Journal and Courier after winning the Miss Indiana Latina title.

She told the outlet she was honored to win the crown and highlight the 'culture and values of the Latino community.

Zapata said: 'This, along with the organization’s motto, "More than a model, a role model," is what uniquely sets us apart for great success.'