3 admit roles in fentanyl drug ring
NORRISTOWN >> Three people who Montgomery County prosecutors say took part in distributing enough fentanyl “to kill half the population of the county” have admitted to their roles in the drug ring.
Wilbert Taveras-Payano, 35, of Bronx, N.Y., was sentenced in county court to 4 ½ -to-15-years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to charges of possession with intent to deliver 828.6 grams of fentanyl and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in connection with incidents that occurred between April and July 2017.
Christina Mota-Soto, 30, of the 2900 block of Devereaux Avenue, Philadelphia, formerly of Norristown, was sentenced to 11 ½ -to-23- months in the county jail after she pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver fentanyl and conspiracy charges. Mota-Soto also must complete three years’ probation following parole, for a total of about five years of court supervision.
The sentences were imposed by Judge William R. Carpenter.
Lincoln Payano Del Orbe Jr., 26, of the 3400 block of Ella Street, Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to drug delivery and conspiracy charges in connection with the drug ring and is in jail while awaiting his sentencing hearing next month.
Mota-Sota reportedly is the girlfriend of Del Orbe. Taveras-Payano and Del Orbe reportedly are cousins.
At the time of the arrests in October 2017, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said the dismantling of the drug operation represented one of the largest fentanyl seizures in the county’s history.
“Fentanyl is deadly in very, very small amounts. Minute amounts of this drug can prove fatal. Given that 2 to 3 milligrams of fentanyl, just five or six grains can be fatal, the kilo that we’re talking about, or 2.2 pounds, in this case contained enough fentanyl to kill half the population of Montgomery County,” Steele said at the time.
Steele maintained the fentanyl seizure saved many lives. Steele alleged that had the kilo of fentanyl ended up in the hands of street dealers it would have been sold as heroin to addicts throughout Montgomery County and the Philadelphia region.
The one kilo of fentanyl, Steele said, could have been divided into 300,000 bags that could be sold on the street for $10 apiece, representing a street value of $3 million.
Prosecutors said fentanyl is 40 to 50 times more deadly than heroin.
The investigation began in April 2017 when undercover agents working with county detectives began negotiating with Mota-Soto, formerly of Norristown, for the purchase of heroin. Mota-Soto, authorities alleged, had ties to a confidential informant in Norristown.
Mota-Soto agreed to find the informant a source of supply capable of supplying up to three kilograms of heroin at a time, according to court papers.
On July 11, an informant met Mota-Soto in Philadelphia and Mota-Soto provided “a sample” of what was believed to be heroin
for $1,000. However, a chemical analysis determined the substance was fentanyl.
Undercover agents then negotiated to purchase a kilo of fentanyl from MotaSoto for $64,000, according to the criminal complaint. On July 24, that drug transaction occurred in a shopping center in Cheltenham and Mota-Soto was taken into custody at that time, prosecutors said.
The investigation continued and detectives were able to eventually link all three defendants to the sales of fentanyl. Detectives also determined that Taveras-Payano was the source of the fentanyl in Bronx, N.Y., and his cousin, Del Orbe, played an integral role in the two deliveries, Steele alleged.
County and Cheltenham detectives were assisted in the joint investigation by Philadelphia Police, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, Chester County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Marshal Service.
“Given that 2 to 3 milligrams of fentanyl, just five or six grains can be fatal, the kilo that we’re talking about, or 2.2 pounds, in this case contained enough fentanyl to kill half the population of Montgomery County.” — Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele