December 25, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 26, 1429

GUADALAJARA (Mexico), Dec 24: A beauty queen from the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa has been arrested, along with several companions, carrying weapons and thousands of dollars in cash, authorities in the western state of Jalisco said on Tuesday.

Beauty queen Laura Zuniga, 23, was arrested while travelling with six men in two vehicles carrying weapons and $100,000 in cash, official sources said.The men included Angel Garcia Urquiza, brother of Ricardo Garcia Urquiza, also known as “The Doctor,” who was detained in 2005 and suspected of running a major drug cartel.

“This young woman (Zuniga) apparently has a romantic relationship with this gentleman (Urquiza),” Jalisco security chief Luis Carlos Najera told reporters.

Zuniga was crowned “Miss Sinaloa” in July and also won the Queen of Hispanic America contest in November in Bolivia.

At the time of the arrests, authorities said they found two AR-15 rifles, three pistols, 633 cartridges, 16 cellphones and about 100,000 dollars in the vehicles.

The seven detained “were just coming to town.

They came from different places and the young woman said that the money was for making purchases in Bolivia and Colombia,” said Jalisco public security director Alejandro Solorio.—AFP