Mexican beauty queen gets 40-day jail time after drug bust

London, Dec 27 (ANI): A 23-year-old Mexican beauty queen has been jailed for 40 days after she was arrested with an alleged Ciudad Juarez drug cartel leader and a group of heavily armed men.

Zuniga was seized on December 22 at a military checkpoint in the western state of Jalisco while travelling with seven armed men in two vehicles carrying 68,000 pounds in cash, reports the Telegraph.

The beauty was ordered "the cautionary measure" of 40 days of detention and the men "for probably committing crimes" relating to drug trafficking and transporting weapons, the office of the attorney general said.

Zuniga was arrested along with Angel Orlando Garcia Urquizar, "presumed to be one of the leaders of the Juarez Cartel," a statement read.

Police earlier identified Zuniga as Garcia Urquizar's girlfriend.

The beauty queen was crowned "Miss Sinaloa" in July, and also won the Queen of Hispanic America contest in November in Bolivia.

Garcia Urquizar's brother Ricardo, known as "The Doctor", was a top Juarez drug cartel operative until his arrest in 2005.

The Juarez cartel is believed to be responsible for smuggling up to 20 percent of all the cocaine consumed in the United States, for annual profits of 660 million dollars. (ANI)