Authorities announce fentanyl bust worth more than $5 million in Philly region
Search warrants were executed on Tuesday at five drug-packaging houses in the city’s Castor, Mayfair, Crescentville, and Hunting Park sections, authorities said.
District Attorney Larry Krasner and other authorities on Wednesday announced the arrests of five people and the seizure of more than 30 kilograms of fentanyl and related drugs and substances with a street value of at least $5 million this week and in prior law enforcement actions covering the Philadelphia region and the Pittsburgh area.
Authorities said they believe that at least six overdoses — three of which were fatal — were linked to narcotics sold by the drug trafficking organization that was targeted.
Search warrants were executed Tuesday at five drug-packaging houses in the city’s Castor Gardens, Mayfair, Crescentville, and Hunting Park sections, authorities said.
Enrique Munoz-Hernandez, 53, described as a “manager” of the Acevedo drug trafficking organization, was arrested, along with four others who were described as “table workers” — people who helped package the drugs, authorities said.
All five were charged with possession with intent to distribute, conspiracy, and related offenses, and were each being held on $2 million bail, authorities said.
Krasner said the investigation, which began in 2023, is ongoing and includes the Philadelphia Police Department, the Bensalem Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the regional multiagency High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.
In a statement, Krasner said: “My office intends to prosecute these individuals with appropriate severity for their illegal activity, which has poisoned our communities and ruined an untold number of lives.”
At a news conference Wednesday, Krasner offered a candid note: “Make no mistake, [people will] be selling drugs as we stand here, and they’ll be selling them tomorrow. But this is a lot, and this is important, and this is a reflection of some really excellent work that is impactful, and hopefully will have an impact that will endure.”
Besides the busts that occurred Tuesday, authorities highlighted a seizure that occurred in December when a suitcase containing 44,000 bags of fentanyl weighing approximately 10 kilograms was recovered after being transported on a Greyhound bus from Philadelphia to Allegheny County.
The drugs also were sold in New Jersey, authorities said.
Two guns, including a ghost gun, were recovered in a related bust last year, authorities said.
Assistant District Attorney Paul Reddel, supervisor of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Dangerous Drug Offenders Unit, said 30 different drug-bag stamps were recovered in the ongoing law enforcement operation.
Drug stamps are a type of branding drug dealers use to differentiate what they are selling, Reddel said, also adding that “30 stamps means 30 corners” — street corners or other locations where the drugs were sold.