Former Indiana Beauty Queen and Flight Attendant Accused of Smuggling Drug Proceeds for Mexican Cartel

Glenis Zapata, who in 2011 won the Miss Indiana Latina beauty pageant

Glenis Zapata, 34, once crowned Miss Indiana Latina in 2011, has been accused of using her job as a flight attendant to smuggle drug proceeds for a Mexican drug trafficking organization. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that Zapata allegedly transported cash for the Espinosa DTO on commercial flights, leveraging her “Known Crew Member” (KCM) badge and authority.

The indictment, unsealed on Friday, also names 17 others involved in the operation, including the 41-year-old leader and the primary manager, both from Mexico, as well as the head of the Chicago operations from Texas.

The organization reportedly operated from 2018 to 2023, smuggling thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States and laundering tens of millions of dollars. The traffickers used semitrailer trucks and a private charter plane, which was seized by authorities in 2021 after flying from Toluca, Mexico, via Houston to the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana. The cocaine was hidden in suitcases, loaded into a Lincoln Navigator, and driven to a downtown Chicago hotel.

This Bombardier Challenger jet was carrying about 230 pounds of cocaine shipped from Mexico to Gary in 2021, federal authorities say.

The operation was uncovered when agents stopped a Toyota Highlander near the hotel, seizing 80 kilos of cocaine in suitcases and arresting the driver. Another man was arrested in his hotel room with an additional 20 kilograms of cocaine.

Court documents reveal that the traffickers operated across the U.S., utilizing warehouses, commercial garages, and “stash locations” such as apartments and offices to store drugs and cash. Authorities seized large volumes of cocaine linked to the ring throughout 2021 in Chicago, Indiana, Florida, Texas, and Michigan.

Oswaldo Espinosa.

They also confiscated hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash linked to the organization in various states, including Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Tennessee, and Florida between 2019 and 2020.

The traffickers maintained paper and electronic ledgers to track their cocaine, drug debts, and cash payments. They used encrypted cellphones and applications to avoid law enforcement detection. Two bank employees in Indiana, one of whom is reportedly Zapata’s sister, are accused of helping launder the drug proceeds.