Miami-Dade police internal affairs lieutenant accused of helping cocaine traffickers

By David Ovalle

dovalle@MiamiHerald.com

Miami-Dade cop Ralph Mata, the feds said Tuesday, protected cocaine smugglers, bought them firearms, doled out sensitive law enforcement intelligence and even concocted a detailed plot to murder rivals.

But Mata, 45, is no low-ranking uniformed patrolman – he is a lieutenant with internal affairs, tasked with rooting out corruption within his own department.

Federal authorities arrested Mata in Miami Gardens on Tuesday, stunning fellow officers, who described the longtime policeman as a straight-laced, low-key supervisor who has been with Miami-Dade’s Professional Compliance Bureau since March 2010.

Mata, who joined the department in 1992, will make an appearance in Miami federal court Wednesday

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