An Alabama man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking case in which authorities say 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of cocaine were brought into the state in a tractor-trailer.

Muta Bolden, 36, of Dothan, was ordered to serve nearly 11 years in prison on the federal drug trafficking charges, according to acting U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Dothan police began investigating in February 2019 when the agencies received a tip that a shipment of cocaine was being brought into Houston County, according to a statement Wednesday from the U.S. Justice Department.

Authorities in Ashford, Alabama, said they later witnessed Bolden meet up with codefendants Alberto Diaz, 44, of Rio Grande, Texas, and Kenneth Nicholas De La Cerda, 27, also of Rio Grande, before traveling to a truck stop in Dothan.

There, a third codefendant, Jesus Pina, Jr., 40, of San Juan, Texas, was accused of driving an 18-wheeler to another location in Dothan, where Bolden, Diaz and De La Cerda retrieved a shipment of drugs from the truck.

Agents intercepted the men and arrested them, officials said. Diaz was previously sentenced to nearly 11 years imprisonment, Pina received nine years and De La Cerda was ordered to complete 5 years in prison, prosecutors said.