Meth Dealer Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A Northern California man prosecutors say ran a large-scale drug operation is facing time in federal prison for possessing a large quantity of a cold medicine used to make methamphetamine.

Prosecutors say Manuel Aguilar-Godinez pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to possess 34 pounds of pseudoephedrine. Federal law prohibits the use of stockpiling the widely-used decongestant because it's a key ingredient in manufacturing methamphetamine.

Aguilar-Godinez was arrested in September 2008 after buying the cold medicine in the Los Angeles area earlier that year.

Investigators say Aguilar-Godinez ran a drug ring out of Calaveras County that was one of four drug rings shut down by federal and state investigators.

The 36-year-old Aguilar-Godinez, described by federal prosecutors as a "twice-deported illegal alien," is due to be sentenced August 26.

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