Document text
Head of drug ring pleads guilty EUGENE -- The reputed mastermind behind a large drug ring in the Rogue Valley has confessed in federal court. Mario Miranda Garcia, 38, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. The plea came midway through trial before Judge Ann Aiken, who approved the settlement. Federal prosecutors described Miranda Garcia as a resident alien and the ringleader behind a "distribution organization" based in Jackson and Josephine counties that smuggled and sold heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and launder money, distribution of heroin and money laundering. The five-count indictment also included forfeiture of property bought with drug proceeds. Over the past five years, five co-defendants have been convicted and sentenced in the case, according to U.S. Attorney Kristine Olson. Miranda Garcia was arrested in June 1997 after an investigation by the Jackson County Narcotic Enforcement Team, the Josephine Interagency Narcotics Team, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Sentencing was set for Aug. 18. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA