A former Miami police officer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for being part of a drug smuggling ring.
Ralph Mata was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Newark.
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Mata was arrested last year. Prosecutors say the former Miami-Dade police lieutenant was nicknamed the "Milk Man" and helped drug traffickers bypass security at airports in New York and Miami.
Prosecutors allege he provided protection, sensitive law enforcement information and security for Dominican Republic drug dealers. They said Mata even planned a hit on a rival gang that was never executed.
According to the criminal complaint, Mata often traveled to New Jersey and the Dominican Republic to facilitate his drug dealer accomplices.
Mata pleaded guilty in March to aiding and abetting a narcotics conspiracy and conspiring to distribute cocaine. He initially faced a potential life sentence, but under a plea agreement faced between 9 and 11 years.