Four members of a drug trafficking organization have been sentenced to prison for their roles in mailing and distributing methamphetamine and cocaine throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania. Acting United States Attorney Nelson S.T. Thayer, Jr., announced the sentencing by United States District Court Judge Joshua D. Wolson.
The defendants were charged with drug trafficking offenses in January 2024 and entered guilty pleas late last year. Aived Abel Garcia, also known as "Nephew," 26, from Chula Vista, California, received a sentence of 70 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Miguel Aliaga, known as "Migz," 37, from Whitehall, Pennsylvania, and Avrian Haywood Mack, called "The Kid," 22, from Reading, Pennsylvania, were both sentenced earlier this month to 60 months in prison with five years of supervised release.
Michael Sanchez, the leader of the drug trafficking organization known as "West Coast," 33, from Los Angeles, California, was sentenced in January to 14½ years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
The organization mailed drugs from California to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Members would then collect the packages for distribution. Sanchez managed the operations while Garcia traveled between California and Pennsylvania to handle narcotics packages and financial transactions. Together with Mack and Aliaga, they distributed significant amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine.
“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,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Thayer. “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.”
The investigation involved multiple agencies including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia’s El Dorado Task Force, HSI Allentown, HSI Los Angeles among others. The case is prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lizmar Bosques and Special Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Gannon.