PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Investigators have seized more than 2.5 million doses of fentanyl in a major drug takedown in Northeast Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said it started with two separate investigations in different parts of the state.
“Along with our partners, we became aware of large amounts of fentanyl being moved in and around the Commonwealth, with supplier bases in Northeast Philadelphia,” he explained.
Sunday said a small row home on the quiet Wellington Street near Hawthorne Street in Mayfair was at the center of the organization. Earlier this week, law enforcement served search warrants at the Wellington Street home and one on Montague Street.
“The bulk of the bagging, packaging and stamping was done at the Wellington Street home,” he said. “Earlier this month, we learned that Wellington Street was serving as a supplier for the Montague Street operation… It's much like an assembly line in a factory. Everyone has their roles.”
Authorities seized 100,000 packets of fentanyl and about 2.5 million doses worth around $2 million.
Johan Manuel Almonte-Ortiz, 26; Argedys Noel De La Cruz Jerez, 33; and Domingo Cedeno-Pimentel, 37, have been charged with felony drug trafficking, conspiracy, and related offenses.
De La Cruz Jerez also faces several federal charges, accused of selling bricks of fentanyl and Xylazine. Prosecutors would not go into more specifics as to why he faces federal offenses.
