2 Philly men charged in heroin bust

Two Philadelphia men suspected of participating in a city drug ring have been charged with trafficking 250 grams of heroin, Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced Monday.

Santos Javier Alvarez-Ruiz, 38, of Mayfair, and Felipe Fontanez-Burgos, 42, of Castor, were arrested earlier this month and each charged with conspiracy and a number of drug-related counts, Kane's office said.

At a news conference Monday morning in Philadelphia, Kane said the seized heroin had a street value of about $85,000. The two men also were found with about $6,000 in cash; equipment typically used to cut and package the drug, such as a scale and strainers; and thousands of unused blue packets, Kane said. Many of those items were on display as Kane announced the arrest.

Kane called heroin "a scourge across our nation that is literally killing our children," and said authorities were continuing to investigate the case because they believe the two men worked with other people.

The men were arrested June 10 after agents witnessed Fontanez-Burgos leaving Alvarez-Ruiz's home with a black trash bag, according to a news release from Kane's office. The agents stopped Fontanez-Burgos and found "a significant amount of heroin packaging materials, including thousands of blue paper packets," the release said.

Agents then searched Alvarez-Ruiz's house and found the heroin and additional manufacturing supplies, according to the release.

Paul Richart, the Attorney General's Office regional agent in charge, declined to say where the two men allegedly dealt the drugs, but said that authorities believe Fontanez-Burgos was a street-level dealer, while Alvarez-Ruiz was a wholesaler.

The two men have a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 28, Kane's office said.

cpalmer@phillynews.com

215-854-2817

@cs_palmer