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'Queen of the South': Arizona drug trafficking suspect back in U.S., federal officials say

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Updated  July 26, 2024 6:38pm EDT
Crime & Public Safety
FOX 10 Phoenix
article

TUCSON, Ariz. - Officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office say a Tucson woman who identified herself as "Queen of the South" has been returned to the U.S., years after she fled to Mexico.

In a statement released on July 26, a spokesperson with the United States Attorney's Office said 33-year-old Amanda Rachelle Miller was caught in Culiacán, a city located in Mexico's Sinaloa state, on May 30, and deported back to the United States.

"Miller made her initial court appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Rateau on July 3, 2024, and was ordered detained in custody," read a portion of the statement.

Investigators say Federal agents first encountered Miller in late 2020, at what officials say was "the culmination of an investigation into narcotics distribution occurring out of various Tucson-area motels." She was arrested at a Downtown Tucson hotel on Nov. 12, 2020, as she tried to run away from the scene.

"In one of the rooms, agents discovered evidence of Miller’s involvement in drug trafficking, including quantities of suspected methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl; a vacuum-sealing device; a digital scale; over $25,000 in cash; and two suspected drug distribution ledgers, one of which had Miller’s first name written on the back cover," read a portion of the statement.

Miller, per the statement, fled to Mexico while she was on pre-trial release.

"In late September 2021, an undercover officer, posing as a bulk purchaser of narcotics, established contact with Miller over social media. Miller was using the alias, ‘Reina Sur,’ or ‘Queen of the South,’" the statement reads. "Miller represented to the undercover officer that she was ‘direct from [the] [S]inaloa [C]artel.’ Over the ensuing months, while in communication with the undercover officer, she is alleged to have orchestrated multiple narcotics sales, which revealed the network of criminal associates conducting business on her behalf in southern Arizona."

Queen of the South, according to IMDb, is also the name of a television series from 2016 to 2021. Drug smuggling is one of the issues portrayed in the series.

In the course of the investigation, officials say Miller was linked via recorded communications to two drug seizures that happened in April and August of 2021. She is accused of committing various drug-related offenses, including:

  • Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine
  • Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine
  • Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine
  • Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine
  • Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, and Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl
  • Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine
  • Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments
  • Money Laundering

"The maximum penalties for the numerous charges range from 20 years in prison to life in prison and fines ranging from $500,000 to $10,000,000," investigators wrote.

This story was reported on in Phoenix.