Angie Sanclemente Valencia also known as Angie Sanselmente Valencia (born 25 May 1979) is a former Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n beauty queen and lingerie model believed to be the ringleader of one of the world's largest drug syndicates.

Background

Valencia is originally from Colombia, where she won the Reinado Nacional del Café, a national qualifying competition for the prestigious Reinado Internacional del Café

Reinado Internacional del Café

The Reinado Internacional del Café beauty pageant, was internationally launched as the Reinado Continental del Café in 1957, and the name was changed to the current one in 1972 in order to allow for the participation of countries from America and other continents...

 (International Queen of Coffee) beauty pageant, in 2000 but was dethroned two days later when it was found she was married. The title was awarded to Ximena Andrea García Buitrago.

Syndicate

Valencia's operation is believed to be a "rival empire" to that of her former boyfriend, a Mexican drug baron known as "The Monster". She formed her own cartel after splitting with him. She is alleged to have recruited other models, whom she is quoted referring to as her "unsuspicious, beautiful angels" as drug traffickers, paying them up to around $5,000 (£3,200) per trip to transport cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

 from Argentina to England by way of Cancún

Cancún

Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...

.

Investigation

Valencia's alleged syndicate was believed to have been exposed on 13 December 2009, when a 21-year-old woman, "Ariel L", was arrested with a suitcase containing 55 kg (121 pounds) of cocaine at Ezeiza International Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina. "L" made no attempt to hide the drugs inside her bags, leading authorities to suspect the ring had help from employees. She is reported to have been told that no one at the airport would try to stop her, and an investigation was launched to find employees of the airport with possible links to the syndicate. After questioning "L", three additional arrests were made and a warrant was issued for Valencia's arrest. Authorities believed she was still in Argentina after she fled a hotel where she had been staying with her pomeranian

Pomeranian (dog)

The Pomeranian is a breed of dog of the Spitz type, named for the Pomerania region in Central Europe . Classed as a toy dog breed because of its small size, the Pomeranian is descended from the larger Spitz type dogs, specifically the German Spitz...

. Investigators attempted to trace her location through the address under which the animal was registered, but it only led them to an abandoned warehouse. In March 2010 Interpol

Interpol

Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...

 issued an international warrant for her arrest.

Valencia was finally arrested in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 26, 2010, while staying in a local hostel

Hostel

Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...

. Police reported that she had registered under a false name and had tried to alter her appearance by dyeing her hair blonde.

She was initially jailed on 27 May 2010 in the "Centro Federal de Detención de Mujeres Unidad número 31" in the city of Ezeiza, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In October of the same year she was moved to the "Instituto Correccional de Mujeres Unidad número 3" also in Ezeiza after she suffered some violent attacks.