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Nineteen-year-old Ramon Caro, 37-year-old Arturo Avila, and 22-year-old Alex Zaragoza each pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, possession, and conspiracy charges before Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. on Monday, March 13, District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said.
During a joint operation between Bensalem police and Drug Enforcement Administration's Philadelphia office, the three men were seen leaving a township hotel on June 9, 2022, the DA said.
One of the suspects was wearing a camouflage backpack as they entered a car with California license plates on the 3300 block of Street Road, officials said. Authorities arrested them before they pulled away, and recovered "approximately 40,000 fentanyl pills and 11 pounds of methamphetamine" from the bag, according to the release.
Police claim the drugs have a street value of over $1 million.
Also arrested during the raid was 27-year-old Anthony Gonzales, who DA Weintraub says is still awaiting trial. State court filings show he is next due to return to court for a pre-trial hearing on April 25. Caro, Avila, Zaragoza, and Gonzales are all from Riverside, California, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles.
In court on Monday, Caro was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison with a concurrent, 15-year probation, Weintraub said. Avila will spend 7.5 to 15 years behind bars, also with concurrent probation of 15 years, and Zaragoza was sentenced to five to 10 years with concurrent probation lasting a decade, the DA added.
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