A Philadelphia resident has been sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in a fentanyl distribution operation. Emmanuel F. Almonte Mejia, 40, admitted guilt to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden presided over the case.
The operation, conducted from a private residence in the Philadelphia area, functioned as a drug mill producing large quantities of fentanyl for redistribution. In February 2022, authorities recovered nearly six kilograms of the substance from this location.
In addition to the prison sentence, Mejia will undergo three years of supervised release following his incarceration. His co-conspirators, Hector Luiz De La Cruz Nunez and Loanny F. Duran Hiciano, have also pleaded guilty to similar charges. Nunez received a 60-month prison sentence with an additional three years of supervised release, while Hiciano awaits sentencing.
The investigation was carried out by special agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark and Philadelphia offices, along with the New Jersey State Police. The effort was led by Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna and credited under Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel for HSI Newark and Edward Owens for HSI Philadelphia.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent D. Romano represented the government in this case.
Defense counsel for Mejia was Robert M. Gamburg.