A Colombian has been sentenced to almost 12 years in prison for his role in a ring that laundered large amounts of money from sales of illegal drugs sent to the United States by Colombian and Mexican traffickers.

Federal officials said Tuesday that 57-year-old Heriberto Torres-Romero of Bogota and 23 others - mostly from New York or Colombia - pleaded guilty to taking part in a system called the "black market peso exchange."

They said that after his prison sentence, Torres-Romero will be deported to Colombia.

The U.S. attorney's office said that another defendant, 36-year-old Edgar Baez, is scheduled to plead guilty later this month in New York, and five defendants remain fugitives.

During a four-year investigation in Atlanta, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Puerto Rico and Mexico, U.S. agents seized about $9 million, 2 kilograms of heroin and 26 kilograms of cocaine.