A Saugus man was sentenced to eight years in prison while a second is awaiting sentencing after being caught in a meth ring bust, officials said.

One of two Saugus men arrested just over a year ago for involvement in a nationwide meth-trafficking ring was sentenced earlier this month in a Pennsylvania court to at least eight years in prison.

Patrick Fry, 44, of Saugus, was sentenced on July 1 in Montgomery County Court, where he was sentenced to eight years in prison after reportedly pleading guilty in a negotiated deal with prosecutors to manufacturing, delivering or possessing methamphetamine with the intent to deliver the drug, according to Montgomery County Court Documents.

Fry was also sentenced the same day to three years in prison after pleading guilty to being part of a corrupt organization, according to officials.

Joel Travis Hills-Garcia, 30, also of Saugus, was among five arrested Jan. 17, 2018,  after a nationwide multi-agency drug investigation pegged the “Big Five” as running a “multi-state drug trafficking organization” that shipped more than 350 pounds of meth across the country between California and Pennsylvania, courts documents showed.

Several law enforcement agencies including the FBI dismantled the drug trafficking organization that used the U.S. Postal Service to mail packages of crystal methamphetamine and marijuana from California to traffickers in Montgomery County dating back to at least April 2016 and the arrests of five leaders who spearheaded the corrupt organization, according to court documents.

“Through the joint efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies, we were able to shut down a significant drug trafficking organization that was operating in Southeastern Pennsylvania and work our way back to their suppliers in California,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) first identified the suspicious packages, beginning the investigation, according to USPIS Philadelphia Division Inspector-In-Charge Daniel Brubaker.

“This case exemplifies our ongoing commitment to eliminating from the mail stream the illegal narcotics that poison our youth and devastate our community,” Brubaker said. “Our objective was to identify this drug trafficking organization, both here and at its source in California, and completely dismantle it. We accomplished our objective.”

The two Santa Clarita men were extradited to Pennsylvania shortly after their arrest.

Through the course of the investigation that led to the capture of the two Saugus men, law enforcement identified what they believed to be more than 350 pounds of illegal crystal methamphetamine and marijuana sent in multiple shipments.

“Meth is deadly and cheap, and it is flowing into Montgomery County from California, in this case using the U.S. Postal Service and other carriers,” Steele said. “Drug traffickers make the false assumption that using the mail or hiding drugs in car batteries will keep them safe from detection. They are wrong, and we are on to them.”

The multi-agency task force arrested the drug-running group’s leaders identified as residents of Ambler, PA, according to officials.

The five individuals arrested were reportedly known during the investigation as “The Big Five.”

The Bucks  County District Attorney’s Office and Detective Bureau were also heavily involved with the investigation, according to Bucks County District Attorney Matt Wientraub.

“Once we arrested Holt, we assisted many other law enforcement agencies in holding ‘The Big Five’ and their nationwide narco-trafficking organization criminally accountable,” Weintraub said. “Bottom line: crystal meth, marijuana and the mail don’t mix.”

In April, Hills-Garcia appeared in Montgomery County Court, where he pleaded guilty to being part of a corrupt organization and to manufacturing and delivering meth, according to officials.

His plea was not a negotiated deal with prosecutors, according to court documents.

Hills-Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 5, according to the courts.

Ed. Note: Jade Aubuchon contributed to this article.

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