LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Authorities say an eastern Arkansas man indicted in a wide-ranging drug and corruption investigation ran a drug ring out of an auto repair shop and bribed law enforcement.
Leon Edwards was denied bail in a court hearing Friday. He's one of 70 people indicted in "Operation Delta Blues." The investigation focuses on drug trafficking and corruption in and around the Mississippi Delta town of Helena-West Helena.
Prosecutors say Edwards and another man ran a major drug ring from a car shop near a middle school. On Friday, they revealed transcripts of conversations in which Edwards is accused of having ordered "a 9-piece chicken dinner" — code for 9 ounces of cocaine.
Authorities say Edwards also paid off a local sheriff's deputy to get a friend out of jail.
©2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
