Slidell, Louisiana Man Sentenced to 151 Months for Fentanyl Conspiracy: 10,593 Grams Seized at His Home, Drug Proceeds Bought a Maserati and a House
Slidell, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana — The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced that Gregory Smith Jr., 43, of Slidell, was sentenced to 151 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to fentanyl distribution, felon-in-possession of a firearm and money laundering charges. U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier imposed the sentence on October 22, 2026.
According to U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle, Smith conspired with others to distribute fentanyl in the Eastern District of Louisiana and elsewhere. On May 4, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) searched his residence and seized approximately 10,593.572 grams of fentanyl, 3.76 grams of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia including two digital scales, a cake pan, multiple blenders and a vacuum sealer, all bearing fentanyl residue, along with $15,520 in cash and a Masterpiece Arms MPA Defender nine-millimeter semi-automatic gun with an extended magazine.
For the money laundering counts, Smith in July and August 2021 structured cash deposits of drug proceeds into a bank account, then wired funds to a credit union account to pay off a car loan and obtain a $27,617.55 official check made out to a title company, which was used at the closing of the purchase of his residence. He also used $48,931 in drug proceeds to purchase a 2018 Maserati Levante. The court imposed a mandatory $100 special assessment fee per count.
DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Randy Harness said the defendant went to great lengths to launder drug proceeds into luxury vehicles and real estate, and that the federal team followed the paper trail. The case was investigated by the DEA and the Louisiana State Police as part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachal Cassagne and André Jones.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：美国路易斯安那州 Slidell 市 Heritage Park 夜景（jahebert 7 摄，经 Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0，资料图）
