A.G.: Traffickers stored $23 million in cocaine at North Philly warehouse

A drug trafficking organization smuggled $23.2 million worth of cocaine from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic into Philadelphia and stored the drugs in a North Philadelphia warehouse, according to the state Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced the arrest of six men at a news conference Thursday and said each had been charged with drug distribution, conspiracy, and related offenses.

Three of the suspects - Francisco Severino-Ortega, 54, and Juan Rojas, 32, both of New York City, and Argenis Dioscoris Grullon, 37, of Allentown - were arrested after two vehicle stops at Lehigh and Trenton Avenues in Kensington during which authorities seized about 40 kilograms of cocaine, Kane said.

Investigators traced the cocaine to a warehouse on the 200 block of West Cambria Street in the Fairhill section of North Philadelphia.

Armed with a search warrant, authorities seized 192 kilograms of cocaine from the warehouse and arrested three more men in connection with the trafficking organization. They were identified as Michael Perez, 24, of Puerto Rico; Jose Morales, 53, of Kissimmee, Fla.; and John Olmedo, 48, of the 1900 block of East Clementine Street in Kensington.

The Attorney General's Office said investigators also seized $77,000 in cash, a money counter, and drug paraphernalia.

The arrests were part of an investigation by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Border Enforcement Security Task Force, a collaboration among local, state, and federal agencies, including the Office of Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation.

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