A flight attendant and two bank employees in Indiana have been charged in a federal indictment that accuses a Mexico-based drug trafficking ring of transporting large amounts of cocaine into the U.S

Glenis Zapata, 34, of Lafayette, Indiana, is charged with aiding traffickers with the transportation of drug proceeds on commercial airline flights, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, which cited an unsealed indictment. Zapata, the news release adds, 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.

Two bank employees – Ilenis Zapata, 33, and Georgina Banuelos, 39, both of Lafayette – are accused of laundering the drug proceeds by exchanging lower-denominated bills for higher-denominated ones, according to the indictment. Both Ilenis Zapata and Banuelos “knowingly and willfully failed to file currency reports for the transactions,” as required under federal law, the indictment states.

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https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/05/22/indiana-flight-attendant-bank-employees-mexico-trafficking-operation/73792127007/