California man charged with trafficking large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine in Northampton County

A California man was charged Thursday with trafficking pounds of fentanyl and cocaine into Northampton County, federal prosecutors said.

Miguel Gonzalez Segovia, 33, of Mira Loma, Calif., was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of possessing with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid.

Segovia was arrested following an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pennsylvania State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly A. Lewis Fallenstein. Segovia faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia said.

Jonathan A. Wilson, special agent in charge of the DEA in Philadelphia, noted fentanyl has been identified in more than two-thirds of the 5,456 fatal overdoses in Pennsylvania last year. U.S. Attorney William McSwain said reducing the supply of such drugs by prosecuting drug trafficking organizations is a priority for the Department of Justice.

Segovia’s indictment came days after Easton police and FBI agents conducted a series of raids Saturday in what Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. called a “major drug investigation.”

Six people were arrested after agents searched homes on the first block of Olde Penn Drive in Palmer Township and the 1000 block of West Wilkes Barre Street, the 200 block of Orchard Street, and the 100 block of South 12th Street in Easton.

Two of the six people arrested face federal charges and the other four are being charged with state offenses, police said.

peter.hall@mcall.com

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