Dominican national sentenced for his role in Philly-based drug trafficking operation

PHILADELPHIA - A Dominican national was sentenced to over six years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking ring that peddled fentanyl and xylazine in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Castro Frias, a convicted "bagger" for the Philly-based Ortiz drug trafficking ring, will be deported to his native Dominican Republic after serving his sentence.

"Castro Frias played an active role in funneling fentanyl cut with xylazine onto the streets of Philadelphia and beyond," U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said.

What we know:

Castro Frias, a 51-year-old Dominican national living in Philadelphia illegally, pleaded guilty last April to federal drug charges.

He was recently sentenced to 80 months in prison with three years of supervised release for his role as a "bagger" in the Ortiz drug trafficking ring.

Prosecutors say Frias and others packaged thousands of individual bags of fentanyl mixed with xylazine for distribution in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

"This highly addictive and destructive combination of drugs does horrific physical damage to users, causing gaping wounds that have led to amputations and deaths," U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said.

Investigators found over six kilograms of fentanyl on a bagging table during a raid of a property used by the drug trafficking organization.

"Frias played an active role in funneling fentanyl cut with xylazine onto the streets of Philadelphia and beyond," Metcalf said.