KRGV.com

HIDALGO COUNTY - A Mission man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for his role in a drug-smuggling operation.

Roberto Garza, 42, was sentenced Friday in a Corpus Christi courtroom. Prosecutors said he was the leader in a conspiracy that smuggled marijuana from 2003 until last year.

Prosecutors said the drugs were transported through ranches near Falfurrias.

The judge on Friday also handed down a 30-year prison sentence for Ramon Zamora, 52, of Rio Grande City.

Eight other men also were sentenced in the case.