Philadelphia. – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Alex Wellman Castro Frias, 51, a Dominican citizen who had been residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond to 80 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release for his role as a “bagger” in a drug trafficking operation based in Philadelphia.

In August of 2023, Castro Frias was charged by superseding indictment with conspiracy to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. The defendant pleaded guilty to both counts in April of last year.

As detailed in court filings, Castro Frias and his co-conspirators in the Ortiz drug trafficking organization (DTO) were responsible for packaging thousands of individual baggies of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, drugs bound for distribution in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The volume of drugs processed was significant; when the FBI executed a search warrant on a house used by the DTO, over six kilograms of fentanyl were found on the bagging table.

“As a member of this DTO, Castro Frias played an active role in funneling fentanyl cut with xylazine onto the streets of Philadelphia and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “This highly addictive and destructive combination of drugs does horrific physical damage to users, causing gaping wounds that have led to amputations and deaths. My office is committed to bringing to justice the people and organizations fueling the city’s drug epidemic and all the ills that come with it. After serving his sentence, Castro Frias, who’s here illegally, will promptly be deported to his home country.”

The case was investigated by the FBI as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Grenell.