Leader of North Philadelphia Drug Gang Sentenced to Sixteen Years in Prison

PHILADELPHIA – First Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that George Felts, 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to sixteen years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, by United States District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones.

In November 2019, the defendant pleaded guilty to multiple counts of controlled substance offenses including conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. The charges arose from his leadership role in a large drug trafficking organization which shipped hundreds of pounds of narcotics including methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl from California to Philadelphia via United States mail, from at least early 2016 until November 2017. To obtain the narcotics, Felts and other members of the organization flew from Philadelphia to Los Angeles to purchase the drugs directly from a source in California, concealing large amounts of cash between clothing packed in their carry-on luggage. After purchasing the drugs, members of the organization shipped the narcotics in boxes addressed to businesses in the Feltonville neighborhood of North Philadelphia, and then coordinated the delivery of the drugs to various locations, so they could then be prepared for distribution.

“Felts and other members of this drug organization pumped huge quantities of highly toxic and often deadly drugs into our community,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Williams. “Simply put, drug trafficking delivers destruction to our neighborhoods. The sentencing of Mr. Felts cannot undo the damage he caused, but his conviction and lengthy sentence have made our community safer.  When it comes to drug trafficking, our Office is determined to investigate and convict these criminals, and put them behind bars."

“Today, a dangerous individual was sentenced to sixteen years in prison for his role in importing large quantities of illegal and dangerous narcotics to the streets of Philadelphia,” said Damon Wood, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Philadelphia Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service.  “I would like to thank and congratulate the Philadelphia Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Postal Inspectors who worked tirelessly on this case to protect the US mail system from criminal misuse and to ensure Mr. Felts faced justice for the harm he has caused to the Philadelphia community.”

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, with the assistance of the Philadelphia Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nancy Beam Winter.