Bucks County, Bristol Twp. Investigators Take Part In Statewide Drug Takedown

A Bensalem Township warehouse served as a major distribution hub for a statewide illegal THC trafficking network that has resulted in criminal charges against 12 people, according to authorities.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday told reporters Monday that the statewide probe dismantled three distribution hubs. They were on American Drive in Bensalem Township, in Plum Borough in Allegheny County, and in Pittston Borough in Luzerne County.

The enterprise allegedly supplied high-potency THC products—including edibles, vape devices, pre-rolled joints, and loose-leaf marijuana—from the distribution facilities to convenience stores and smoke shops across the state.

“This is not what you may think of as a traditional drug trafficking organization,” Sunday said. “This one involves large warehouses, storefronts, and products sold under the guise that they were legal.”

Authorities seized roughly 150,000 items from the warehouses during search warrant executions in September 2025, according to Sunday.

Laboratory testing conducted so far shows more than 90 percent of the materials contain illegal substances, the attorney general’s office said.

Bensalem Township police, Bristol Township police, and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office were part of the investigation.

The 12 people charged are: Albina Kumar, 37, of Pittsburgh; Duttkumar Patel, 31, of Dublin, Ohio; Dharmeshkumar Patel, 47, of Bensalem Township; Madhav Patel, 34, of Moosic, Lackawanna County; Nirav Patel, 39, of Moosic, Lackawanna County; Palak Patel, 36, of Cranberry; Divyesh Patel, 35, of Cranberry; Ketankumar Patel, 43, of Bensalem Township; Niravkumar Vora, 40, of Edison, New Jersey; Roshniben Patel, 38, of Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery County; Ankitkumar Patel, 41, of Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery County; and Mitul Patel, 45, of Edison, New Jersey.

The 12 defendants face charges including corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, and felony drug-trafficking offenses.

“This criminal enterprise took deliberate steps to distribute these illegal narcotics, statewide, then to conceal the millions and millions of dollars they profited from the scheme,” Sunday said.

Investigators said they traced approximately $18.7 million in illegal proceeds.

The money was moved through corporate fronts and cash deposits were used to launder funds, authorities said.

Law enforcement froze and seized several accounts, including $5.5 million held in a Fidelity account under OHM Distributor LLC, linked to two of the defendants, authorities said.

The investigation started in January 2025 after a Chester County vehicle stop uncovered large quantities of store-bound THC products purchased with cash.

A statewide grand jury recommended the criminal charges against the defendants last month.

Sunday and other officials noted the alleged illegal goods featured brightly colored packaging designed to mimic popular candies and snacks.

“When you look at this, who do you think this packaging is targeted to attract?” Sunday said, displaying product samples. “Children.”

Grand jury testimony from a medical toxicologist noted a surge in youth THC poisonings. Reports to the Pennsylvania Poison Control Center for children under 16 increased from four in 2017 to more than one per day by 2024.

Sunday said that THC potency has risen from 2 percent to 3 percent in the 1980s to between 29 percent and 31 percent in modern plant products, with some vapes reaching nearly 90 percent.

Evidence presented to the grand jury included an incident where a babysitter unknowingly purchased a THC-infused treat at a gas station. A child in her care ingested the item, became unresponsive, and required emergency room treatment for THC poisoning, officials said.

“One mistake can equal an ER visit,” Sunday said. “And oftentimes, unfortunately, sometimes a mistake can equal serious illness or even death.”

In addition to the Bucks County authorities, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, Allegheny County DANET, Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Chester County District Attorney’s Office, and Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office took part. Police departments from Plum Borough, Penn Township, North Huntingdon, Bensalem Township, Penn Hills, Greensburg, Lower Burrell, Mt. Pleasant Murrysville, Latrobe, Bristol Township, Jenkins Township, Lower Moreland, Cranberry Township, Moosic, and Monroeville, and Westmoreland County Drug Task Force, and the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Department assisted, along with the Pennsylvania State Police, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.