In this episode, retired agent Ed Mireles reviews true stories from his 15-plus years of undercover work using the alias Lalo. He recounts his assignments posing as a notorious drug trafficker, transporter, and money launderer who plied his trade in Miami, El Paso, Tucson, and other areas along the Southwest border between Mexico and the United States.
Lalo managed several warehouses in Miami, Florida, and he expanded to manage a transportation business and later a trucking company. The quantity of drugs he reportedly moved made him highly sought-after by the cartels and law enforcement.
Ed and his wife, Elizabeth “Liz” Mireles, who is also a retired FBI agent, are the authors of LALO, Undercover Tales of Money, Drugs and Lies, a narrative crime book based on the true stories of Ed’s undercover roles.
During his time undercover, his alter-ego Lalo was a top target of American law enforcement, referenced in Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) databases as an up-and-coming player in the cartel drug world. In reality, Lalo was a law-abiding citizen, husband, and father, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and a decorated FBI agent. Very few people—even most “Feds”—knew that Lalo and Ed were, in fact, the same person.
“Quantico was very good for me after I was shot. I was there for three years, and that was a combination of convalescence, that allowed me to heal physically and mentally. And then, once I was officially released back on full duty, I requested to be transferred back to Miami and to a drug squad. All the undercover work that I did wasn’t public knowledge. And I did that for 15 years, and I got to be very good at it. You talked about my injury, what a perfect cover. My arm at the time, you know, my injury was fresh, was all bent and swollen and gnarly, and I couldn’t bend my fingers into a fist. So whenever I went to meet people, I mean, they looked and said, oh, who is this guy with this claw hand?”—Retired Agent Ed Mireles
Special Agent (Retired)
Edmundo Mireles, Jr.
9/1979 – 3/2004
Ed Mireles served in the FBI for 25 years. During his career, he gained experience as a street agent, supervisor and manager in a wide range of investigative and administrative areas, as well as extensive work as the primary undercover agent in scores of high level and high-risk narcotics, criminal and national security investigations.
He was assigned to FBI field offices in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Omaha, El Paso, Tucson, and the Southwest border.
Early in his career, was involved in two deadly force confrontations with armed adversaries and has been wounded twice. On April 11, 1986, eight FBI agents and two paramilitary bank robbers faced off on a quiet street in South Miami. This event is known as the “FBI Miami Shootout,” which resulted in the death of the two criminals, the death of two FBI agents, and the critical wounding of five other agents. The shootout lasted just under 5 minutes with over 150 shots fired.
He received numerous awards citing his bravery, to include the National Police Officer of the Year Award in October 1986 from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officer of the Year and the Attorney Generals Award for Exceptional Heroism from the Department of Justice in 1987.
In 1989, the FBI awarded him the first FBI Medal of Valor, and in 1194, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice honored Ed by dedicating their academy in his name. The Edmundo Mireles Criminal Justice Training Academy is in Beeville, Texas.
After retiring from the Bureau, Ed Mireles, a former Marine, worked as a defense contractor in Iraq as a law enforcement professional and adviser to the Iraqi Police, including one year embedded (in uniform) with the Marines. He also worked with the U.S. Department of State in helping to train police in Mexico and Belize. He is married to Elizabeth “Liz” Mireles, who is also a retired agent.
Ed and Liz Mireles have also reviewed the following investigations on FBI Case File Review:
348: Liz and Ed Mireles – Seven Days in Captivity, 1983 Kidnapping
118: Ed Mireles – Fatal FBI Miami Shootout (Part 1)
119: Ed Mireles – Fatal FBI Miami Shootout (Part 2)
The following are images from Ed Mireles’s time working and gathering his undercover tales as a drug transporter for major dealers and cartels operating throughout the United States:
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