Fugitive 'Queen of the South' Returned to United States to Face Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Charges

TUCSON, Ariz. - Amanda Rachelle Miller, 33, of Tucson, was apprehended in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico and deported to the United States on May 30, 2024, to face three felony indictments in the District of Arizona. Miller is a U.S. citizen and had been a fugitive for approximately three-and-a-half years at the time of her arrest in Mexico. Miller made her initial court appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Rateau on July 3, 2024, and was ordered detained in custody.

Federal agents first encountered Miller in late 2020, at the culmination of an investigation into narcotics distribution occurring out of various Tucson-area motels. As alleged in court filings, on November 12, 2020, agents conducted a final enforcement operation at a downtown Tucson motel and apprehended Miller as she ran 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. Miller was charged in federal court by complaint on November 13, 2020, and later indicted on December 1, 2021. She absconded after being placed on pre-trial release and fled to Mexico.

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." As alleged in court documents, 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. During their investigation, agents also were able to link Miller, through recorded communications, to two historical drug seizures, in April and August 2021.

Miller has been indicted in three federal criminal cases in the District of Arizona on the following charges:

In case number 21-CR-03072-TUC-SHR, Miller was charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine. This indictment relates to the incident that allegedly occurred on November 12, 2020.

In case number 21-CR-02360-TUC-JGZ, Miller was charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine. This indictment relates to drug transactions that allegedly occurred in April and August 2021, while Miller was a fugitive.

In case number 22-CR-02454-TUC-RCC, Miller was charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, and Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, and Money Laundering. This indictment relates to drug transactions and money laundering activity that allegedly occurred from September 2021 through the end of 2022, again while Miller was a fugitive from justice.

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.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces ("OCDETF") investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety are conducting the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael R. Lizano, Ashley Culver, and David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, are handling the prosecution.

CASE NUMBERS:

CR-21-03072-TUC-SHR
CR-21-02360-TUC-JGZ
CR-22-02454-TUC-RCC

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