PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s District Attorney Office says five people have been arrested and dozens of kilos of fentanyl seized after law enforcement busted a distribution ring that stretched across Pennsylvania and into New Jersey.
According to law enforcement officials, the ongoing investigation into what is known as the Acevedo drug trafficking organization began in 2023. Over the course of it, authorities said they seized close to 32 kilos of fentanyl, including a raid on Tuesday at five drug-packaging houses that brought in about 16 kilos.
District Attorney Larry Krasner said the distribution network out of Philadelphia reached across the commonwealth to Pittsburgh and east into New Jersey.
“Part of what was confiscated in these raids included about 30 different stamps used for the purpose of marking street-level bags for distribution,” he said. “Thirty different ones should indicate to you just how many — let’s call them ‘brands’ — were being distributed.”
Authorities arrested and charged a “manager,” 53-year-old Enrique Munoz-Hernandez, and four “table workers” who officials said helped package drugs — 54-year-old Victor Formin Bueno, 35-year-old Yesenia Paulino, 25-year-old Jose Rondon and 51-year-old Manuel Santos.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Girman said all of them were above street-level. “These are not people who work on the corners. They distribute to the people who end up passing the drugs out to the people who are selling on the street corners,” he explained.
According to Krasner, the amount of drugs seized in the raids translated to more than $5 million in estimated street value and hundreds of thousands of potentially fatal doses. Authorities also recovered two guns, including a ghost gun, in a raid last Halloween.
The five suspects have been charged with a handful of offenses, most notably possession with intent to distribute. Their bail has been set at two million dollars.