PHILADELPHIA (April 9, 2025)—Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, members of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Dangerous Drug Offenders Unit, and law enforcement representatives from the Philadelphia Police Department, Bensalem Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the regional High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area announced on Wednesday the arrests and charging of five individuals for their role in an extensive fentanyl trafficking operation. The announcement followed a lengthy multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional investigation that began in 2023.
Members of the drug trafficking organization (DTO), known as the Acevedo DTO, were arrested this week after investigators uncovered extensive fentanyl distribution activity in Philadelphia and in the wider tri-state area, including New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania. Authorities believe at least six overdoses—three fatal—were linked to product produced by the Acevedo DTO recently.
Jose Rondon (DOB 4/4/00), Victor Bueno Fermin (DOB 3/15/71), Yesenia Duarte-Paulina (DOB 12/18/89), and Manuel Antonio Sanchez Santos (DOB 7/29/74) are charged with:
- Possession with Intent to Deliver (F);
- Conspiracy (F1);
- Corrupt Organization (F1);
- Dealing in Illegal Proceeds (F1);
- Criminal Use of Communication Facility (F3);
- Paraphernalia (M).
Investigators also arrested Enrique Munoz-Hernandez (DOB 2/22/72), whom they allege oversaw numerous “table houses” (locations used to cut narcotics and prepare them for distribution) that were integral to the trafficking operation. Munoz-Hernandez faces the same charges. Each defendant is currently being held on $2 million bail.
After executing search warrants at table houses located at locations in North and Northeast Philadelphia, law enforcement recovered a total of 31 kilograms of fentanyl with an estimated street value of over $5 million, worth over approximately 500,000 individual doses:
- 6800 block of Eastwood Street in Northeast Philadelphia;
- 7200 block of Charles Street in the city’s Mayfair section;
- 5000 block of F Street in the city’s Lawncrest section;
- 4200 block of N. 8th Street in the city’s Hunting Park section;
- 1100 block of Princeton Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia.
Additionally, the DDOU partnered with the DEA’s Pittsburgh office in December 2024 to recover a suitcase containing 44,000 bags of fentanyl weighing approximately 10 kilograms that was being transported on a Greyhound bus from Philadelphia to Allegheny County.
Throughout the course of the investigation, authorities utilized advanced electronic surveillance, digital forensic analysis, and purchases by undercover agents that eventually led to the severe disruption of the Acevedo DTO’s illicit activities. This remains an active investigation.
“I applaud the extensive and thorough investigation, conducted by the DAO’s Dangerous Drug Offenders Unit, the Philadelphia Police Department, and federal authorities, that led to this fentanyl trafficking ring bust,” said District Attorney Krasner. “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. We will continue to work with our law enforcement and community partners to increase enforcement and prevention, because these tools are crucial in addressing the opioid epidemic.”
”I want to thank our local and federal partners for their invaluable assistance, without which we could not do this work, said Assistant District Attorney Paul Reddel, Supervisor of the DAO’s Dangerous Drug Offenders Unit. “What we have here is a bust involving high-level DTO members making large sums of money off other people’s misery. Philadelphians and others can rest easier tonight knowing that these dangerous individuals are off the streets.”
“I want to thank the District Attorney’s Office and Dangerous Drug Offenders Unit for being our best partners in this city for high-level investigations,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas Hodnett of the DEA. “What they bring to the table is a wealth of experience in this area, and they identify local networks that enable us at the federal level to take that information and track it back to larger national and international organizations, such as cartels. Through their efforts and their patience, they’re actually making an impact not just locally but globally.”
CONTACT:
Dustin Slaughter, [email protected]
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The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the nation. It serves the more than 1.5 million residents of the City and County of Philadelphia, employing 600 lawyers, detectives, and support staff. The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of approximately 40,000 criminal cases annually. Learn more about the DAO by visiting PhillyDA.org.