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Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia have charged five men — including one from Reading and two from Lehigh County — with being part of a drug-tracking organization that shipped millions of dollars’ worth of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania.
U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced this week the unsealing of a seven-count indictment handed down by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Charged by the indictment were Avrian H. Mack, 21, of Reading; David M. Yohn, 53, of Coopersburg and Miguel Aliaga, 36, of Whitehall, both in Lehigh County; Michael Sanchez, 32, of Los Angeles; and Aived A. Garcia, 25, of Chula Vista, Calif..The indictment alleges the defendants used addresses obtained through associates to mail the drugs, then had members of the organization pick up the packages for subsequent distribution to their dealers.
Among other locations, the drugs were delivered to Reading; Coopersburg; Plymouth Township, Montgomery County; and Quakertown and Bensalem in Bucks County.
The investigation began in February 2023 and was led by the Bucks County Detectives Drug Strike Force, the Quakertown Police Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Investigators determined the drug ring was concealing drugs in parcels and shipping them through the Postal Service from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania.
Berks and Montgomery County detectives also took part in the investigation along with Pennsylvania State Police, the state Office of Attorney General, the Postal Inspection Service and the Homeland Security Investigations offices in Philadelphia, Allentown, Los Angeles and San Diego, among other agencies.
During the investigation, officials said, law enforcement seized 40 firearms, over 100,000 rounds of ammunition, 60 pounds of methamphetamine, a kilogram each of fentanyl and cocaine in bulk form, 65 pounds of marijuana, 300 fentanyl pills, six pounds of psychedelic mushrooms and $15,000.
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