Director Patel [press conference]: Not only are we removing guns, and gang members,and robbers, and firearms, we are removing an entire coordinated section of gang violence, permanently off the streets. And that's how you deliver a victory for the people of Philadelphia, the people of Pennsylvania, and the people of America.

Director Patel: The overarching importance of this case, and this takedown, is this is exactly how you safeguard American lives. You go after the organizations that are inflicting pain across America, in each and every city. In my tenure as FBI director, this is one of the largest and most impressive gang takedowns that I have ever seen.

U.S. Attorney Metcalf: Today we are announcing a historic indictment. This case involves thirty-three defendants, a massive drug trafficking conspiracy spanning nearly a decade, involving tremendous volumes of Fentanyl and narcotics. And it takes place at the epicenter of the opioid crisis, here in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. This indictment, by defendant, is the largest federal indictment this century brought by our district.

FBI: This mornings operation involved hundreds of law enforcement personnel, nine tactical teams, and extended beyond Philadelphia, with arrests in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wilmington, Delaware, and Millville, New Jersey.

Police Commissioner Bethel: Those individuals were now having Fentanyl mixed with Xylazine, and now Melatonin, being in other products that are just destroying them.