Delco, Philly Drug Trafficking Gang Member Sentenced To Federal Prison

PHILADELPHIA — One member of a gang that sold heroin, crack, and fentanyl on the streets of Upper Darby and parts of west Philadelphia has been hit with a federal prison sentence.

United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said Paul Robinson, 32, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison, and six years of supervised release for distributing narcotics as part of the Hilltop Drug Trafficking Group.

Authorities said the gang was responsible for putting large amounts of heroin and other narcotics including crack cocaine, oxycodone and fentanyl on the streets of West, Southwest, and Northwest Philadelphia, and Upper Darby between 2013 and 2018.

In December 2021, Robinson pleaded guilty to multiple felony narcotics charges including distribution of controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances near a school, stemming from his role in the Hilltop organization.

The gang operated seven days a week from about 9 a.m. until midnight as a phone order/delivery service, through which customers called a cell phone number belonging to the leaders of the organization, including Robinson, to place orders for illegal narcotics.

The customers were then redirected to "runners," who would meet the customers on the street, often entering the customers’ vehicles, to deliver the narcotics in exchange for payment.

Hilltop was a violent group that often defended its territory and narcotics with firearms, and through distribution of narcotics is responsible for multiple overdose deaths.

"This case is an excellent example of all levels of law enforcement collaborating to dismantle a dangerous drug trafficking operation putting deadly narcotics on streets all across Philadelphia and beyond," Williams said. "This defendant directly threatened the safety of children by conducting the business of drug dealing adjacent to schools and playgrounds, actions for which he will now spend the better part of two decades behind bars."