Two Defendants Convicted at Trial of Possessing With Intent to Distribute 36 Kilograms of Fentanyl and Maintaining Two Drug Houses in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Gabriel Rivera-Otero, a/k/a "Carlos Vasquez," a/k/a "Gustavo," 39, of Philadelphia, PA, and Angel Reyes-Valdez, a/k/a "Abel Anton Alberto Nunez," 48, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, were convicted at trial of possession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and maintaining a drug-involved premises. Reyes-Valdez was also convicted of illegal reentry after deportation.

As proven at trial, on October 28, 2020, Rivera-Otero and Reyes-Valdez met in a parking lot in Philadelphia to transfer six kilograms of fentanyl between them. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested both men, after recovering the fentanyl from a diaper box on the front passenger seat of Rivera-Otero's vehicle.

The same day, DEA agents searched two separate Philadelphia residences where Rivera-Otero and Reyes-Valdez stored and packaged large quantities of controlled substances. At the residence used by Rivera-Otero, agents seized approximately 700 grams of fentanyl, drug packaging material, and drug manufacturing equipment. At the residence used by Reyes-Valdez, agents seized approximately 30 kilograms of fentanyl, including numerous brick-shaped packages of the drug and over 110,000 fentanyl pills, as well as drug packaging material, drug manufacturing equipment, a loaded firearm, and over $90,000 in U.S. currency.

Both defendants have prior felony drug convictions in the United States and Reyes-Valdez had been previously deported from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic three times between 2007 and 2014.

"Imagine the human damage that 36 kilograms - about 80 pounds! - of fentanyl could have done on the streets of Philly and beyond," said U.S. Attorney Romero. "We and our law enforcement partners will continue to battle the dealers and traffickers endangering our communities just so they can profit from the tragedy of the opioid epidemic."

"Together Rivera-Otero and Reyes-Valdez possessed over 36 kilograms of fentanyl, which is a staggering amount of a potentially lethal drug that has had catastrophic effects on our region and across the nation at large," said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division. "That Reyes-Valdez was deported from the United States on three prior occasions and returned to the Philadelphia area where he was found in possession of the kilograms of fentanyl noted above, over 110,000 fake pills containing fentanyl, and a loaded firearm shows the threat he posed to our community. Both he and Rivera-Otero will face severe federal prison sentences."

"Today's most recent federal convictions underscore the critical importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies to combat the epidemic of drug trafficking in our communities," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. "Let this serve as a strong message to those who seek to profit by poisoning our community members: we will pursue you relentlessly and hold you accountable. The Philadelphia Police Department remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting our neighborhoods and ensuring that justice is served."

"The criminal collaboration between Gabriel Rivera-Otero and Angel Reyes-Valdez, a noncitizen, is precisely the type of enterprise that the officers of ERO work tirelessly to disrupt in order to safeguard the American public," said Cammilla Wamsley, Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia Field Office Director. "The interagency cooperation on this investigation has been extraordinary and we look forward to future cooperation with our fellow law enforcement agencies."

Rivera-Otero faces a mandatory minimum sentence of not less than 15 years' imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Reyes-Valdez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of not less than 10 years' imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Philadelphia Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Ashenfelter and Timothy Lanni.