PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Omar Acosta, 43, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and five years of supervised release by United States District Judge Wendy Beetlestone for narcotics and firearms offenses stemming from an undercover operation.
In February 2020, the defendant pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 5+ kilograms of cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Less than a year earlier, in May 2019, Drug Enforcement Administration agents learned that Acosta was in possession of multiple kilogram quantities of cocaine that he was seeking to sell. Through a confidential source, agents arranged a controlled purchase for four kilograms of cocaine from the defendant for $32,000 per kilogram. As the defendant drove to meet the confidential source to execute the purported transaction, he was stopped by law enforcement. With his consent, law enforcement officers searched Acosta’s car and found 21.5 kilograms of cocaine inside of a suitcase. A subsequent search of his residence in the Mayfair section of Northeast Philadelphia led to the discovery of multiple firearms, narcotics and cash including: a loaded Ruger .22 caliber rifle; a loaded Glock 22 semiautomatic pistol; a .40 caliber magazine and extra rounds; an extended Glock magazine; almost 2,000 grams of cocaine; 214 grams of heroin, and more than $57,000 in U.S. currency.
“Drug distribution and gun violence are an epidemic in Philadelphia and the federal government is aggressively prosecuting both in order to be ‘All Hands On Deck’ to get dangerous criminals like this defendant off the streets,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Williams. “Omar Acosta was a large-scale drug trafficker with a weapons cache to support it, both of which put our community in grave danger. We want to thank our law enforcement partners in this case, the DEA, for their hard work and dedication.”
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erica Kivitz.
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