Drug Ring Leader Pleads Guilty

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A man indicted on drug trafficking charges in an eastern Arkansas drug and corruption investigation involving several law officers has pleaded guilty to drug- and gun-related charges.

A federal judge in Little Rock accepted the guilty pleas at a Wednesday hearing. The agreement says Sedrick Trice would get a 40-year prison sentence, though formal sentencing will be set later.

Trice is one of 70 people -- including five law enforcement officers -- who were indicted in an investigation called "Operation Delta Blues" that was announced in October. The probe focused on corruption and drugs in the Mississippi Delta town of Helena-West Helena.

Prosecutors say Trice and an accomplice developed a drug-trafficking ring near a school campus in Helena-West Helena.