NEW YORK CITY, New York: Two men, one a former high-level agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the other his associate, were charged with conspiring to launder millions of dollars and obtain military-grade firearms and explosives for a Mexican drug cartel.

According to an indictment unsealed on December 5, in New York, Paul Campo, 61, of Oakton, Virginia, who retired from the DEA in 2016 after a 25-year career, and Robert Sensi, 75, of Boca Raton, Florida, were arrested during a sting operation involving a law enforcement informant who posed as a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, prosecutors said.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Campo betrayed his DEA career by helping the cartel, which was responsible for "countless deaths through violence and drug trafficking in the United States and Mexico."

Campo and Sensi appeared before a magistrate judge in New York, who ordered them detained without bail. Their lawyers entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.

Campo's lawyer said the charges were exaggerated and denied that the men were planning to get weapons for the cartel.

Prosecutors say the men agreed to launder about US$12 million for the cartel, and already turned about $750,000 into cryptocurrency — money that actually went to the U.S. government. They also paid for cocaine they believed would be sold in the U.S., thinking they would get part of the profit.

The indictment says they talked about getting drones, rifles, grenade launchers, and rocket-propelled grenades for the cartel.

Campo began his career as a DEA agent in New York and rose to become the agency's deputy chief of financial operations, the indictment said.

Evidence in the case includes hours of recordings of the two men talking with the informant, as well as cell phone location data, emails, and surveillance images, Assistant U.S. Attorney Varun Gumaste said in court.

Sensi's attorney, Amanda Kramer, unsuccessfully argued that Sensi should be freed while he awaits trial, saying he wouldn't flee partly because he has multiple health problems, including injuries from a fall two months ago, early-stage dementia, and Type II diabetes.

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement that while the DEA no longer employs Campo, the allegations undermine trust in law enforcement.

Campo and Sensi face four conspiracy charges linked to terrorism, drug trafficking, and money laundering.