Large-Scale Philadelphia Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Arthur Rowland, 42, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 40 years in prison, and five years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Gerald J. Pappert for his role in a scheme to import significant amounts of methamphetamine from California for distribution in and around Philadelphia. 

In February 2022, following a seven-day trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon, but was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining charges. Then, in May 2022, following a six-day retrial, the jury found Rowland guilty on four of the remaining five counts, including multiple firearms and narcotics offenses. The charges stemmed from Rowland’s role as the main distributor for a group that shipped many hundreds of pounds of nearly pure, Mexican-made methamphetamine to the Philadelphia area for further distribution to individuals suffering with addiction and others substance use disorders. For his part, the defendant provided addresses to his California connections, who in turn, sent him packages containing pounds of methamphetamine. Rowland then took possession of that methamphetamine, sold it, and generated large sums of cash.

When federal law enforcement arrested Rowland and executed a search warrant at his residence near City Avenue in December 2018, agents seized more than a kilogram of methamphetamine, approximately $17,000 cash, a Sig Sauer handgun, and two Draco assault-style weapons, as well as ammunition and a high-capacity drum magazine.

“Rowland and his co-conspirators shipped tons of drugs from one end of this country to the other through a large and sophisticated trafficking enterprise,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Four decades behind bars will keep Arthur Rowland off the street and unable to augment the supply of deadly drugs flowing into our community for a very long time.”

“Arthur Rowland pushed massive amounts of meth onto Philadelphia’s streets,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “But this 40-year sentence officially puts him out of business. The FBI and our partners at the Philadelphia Police Department are committed to taking down and locking up prolific drug traffickers like Rowland — people with no regard for the incredible damage they inflict on so many lives and communities.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Shapiro and Timothy M. Stengel.