The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced that four members of a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing methamphetamine and cocaine across Southeastern Pennsylvania have been sentenced to prison. Aived Abel Garcia, also known as "Nephew," received a 70-month prison sentence, followed by five years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Sentencing for the other members of the organization had occurred earlier, with Michael Sanchez, aka "West Coast," the DTO's ringleader, receiving the longest term in January – a 14½ year sentence, and Miguel Aliaga, "Migz", and Avrian Haywood Mack, "The Kid," both receiving 60 months each. According to Acting U.S. Attorney Nelson S.T. Thayer, Jr., the defendants smuggled the narcotics from California to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where packages were picked up for further distribution. "These defendants took part in a cross-country conspiracy that brought significant amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine from California to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania," Thayer stated, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Garcia, who traveled between California and Pennsylvania, collected drug packages, managed payments, and handled bank deposits for a drug trafficking organization. Working with Mack and Aliaga, he distributed methamphetamine and cocaine in Reading, Quakertown, Bensalem, Plymouth Township, and other areas. The drug trafficking organization mailed drugs from California to associates in Pennsylvania, who supplied local dealers. Federal, state, and local agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations’ Philadelphia El Dorado Task Force, HSI Allentown, and multiple police departments, worked together on the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lizmar Bosques and Special Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Gannon from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. "This office and our law enforcement partners at every level will continue to investigate and prosecute such traffickers, as we work to take illegal drugs off the street and make our communities safer," said Thayer, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
