Kensington Drug Boss Convicted for Poisoning Community

PHILADELPHIA – Ricardo Carrion, a.k.a. ‘PR,’ age 41, of Philadelphia, has been convicted of leading a massive drug trafficking operation in the Kensington area of the city.

The notorious crime boss was convicted of all counts, including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute crack and heroin, at a federal trial in Philadelphia. The conviction stems from his leadership role in supplying a large-scale drug trafficking organization that operated on the 3100 block of Weymouth Street, just steps from McPherson Square.

The investigation into Carrion’s operation began as a joint effort between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) to tackle the scourge of drug trafficking and overdoses in the Kensington area. During the investigation, the agencies used covert surveillance to observe thousands of drug customers purchasing narcotics on the 3100 block of Weymouth Street, effectively creating an open-air drug market.

Street dealers were observed using stash houses on the block to store narcotics, including the target drug crew’s signature stamped heroin called ‘Funeral,’ named to advertise its potency and lethalness to addicted consumers. A series of search warrants were executed in 2019, and the DEA developed information that Carrion was the supplier of narcotics in this organization.

Covert surveillance showed him repeatedly carrying large bags into stash houses. In June of that same year, the DEA and PPD initiated a traffic stop of a cab in which Carrion was the sole passenger. At his feet, law enforcement recovered a bag containing over 3,300 flip-top containers of crack cocaine.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Carrion used code words, including ‘lenta,’ which translates to ‘slow’ in English, and ‘hard cola’ to discuss the heroin he ordered for the street dealers. Prosecutors also presented evidence that the defendant supplied thousands and thousands of servings of heroin and crack cocaine to this city block from 2018 until the DEA and PPD dismantled his drug operation.

‘This years-long drug trafficking enterprise impacted more than just this one block; it left a path of destruction across Kensington and throughout Philadelphia,’ said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. ‘This trial conviction is one more example of this Office’s dedicated effort to take down prolific drug dealers peddling poison to those suffering from addiction, and we remain committed to cutting off the supply of deadly drugs into our communities.’

‘No area in Pennsylvania has been more disproportionately affected by the ravages of the opioid epidemic than Kensington, particularly the area around McPherson Square where Carrion supplied and distributed heroin and crack cocaine,’ said Thomas Hodnett, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division. ‘Carrion’s criminal activities ruined the quality of life for the residents who live in Kensington and destroyed the lives of those struggling with substance use disorder. His federal drug conviction will ensure that he serves a lengthy prison sentence for his drug-trafficking activities.’

The case was investigated by the DEA and the PPD, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jason D. Grenell and Derek E. Hines.

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